Wintertide
by Araceil
Summary: Barely two days after returning from the Future, a stranger appears on Tsuna's doorstep looking for Reborn. Wait, what? The Sun Acrobaleno is a father! Tsuna/Harry, Gokudera/Hermione. Yes I updated. Try not to shit yourselves.
1. Chapter 1

**WINTERTIDE**

_Barely two days after returning from the Future, a stranger appears on Tsuna's doorstep looking for Reborn. Wait, what? The Sun Acrobaleno is a father!_

**Warnings for Gokudera's mouth, Hibari's violence, gender-bender and a little bit of canon-divergence.**

**Pairings undecided.**

_**000**_

**CHAPTER ONE**

It was nice to get back to a normal life after all the pain and chaos of fighting Byakuran in the future.

Tsuna sighed as he chewed on the end of his pencil, it has only been a few days but the trials he went through, the fights, the tears, the blood, sweat and bruises felt like a life-time ago as he stared down at the foreign language represented in his algebra homework. It felt... surreal to be sat here, in his room which was still a little disorderly after the Earth Quake their return caused – nothing too serious, a little ceiling plaster on top of the shelves and a few more books than usual on the floor – doing homework with a can of Melon crème Soda at his elbow and the sound of Lambo and Reborn in the garden outside. If it weren't for the fact that it still hurt when he moved his arms and back into certain positions he would have thought the whole adventure 10-years into the future had been nothing but a very scary dream brought on by the fumes of Bianchi's Poison Cooking. It was known to cause hallucinations through airborne exposure.

Not to mention the bruises and plasters that were still visible, it was causing some weird rumours to crop up at school that he was turning Delinquent, most of them were met with the ridicule they deserved but some people believed it and had started taking to skirting away from Tsuna and his friends in the hallways as though they were Hibari-senpai. Perhaps they were a little deserved, he didn't think any of the others had really given it thought but... Tsuna had killed him... he had killed someone, Byakuran, he had murdered him, incinerated him until not even his ashes remained. Completely consumed in the Flame of the Sky, wiped clean, sanitized and... Tsuna couldn't find it in himself to feel bad about it, he was upset about killing, but not guilty, it needed to be done and he just didn't think any of the others had really realised that he had taken someone's life right in front of them.

"Urgh! Its no use, I can't think," he whined, throwing his pencil down and scrubbing at his already mussed up hair, algebra was hard even on a good day but now, with all his thoughts scrambled and maudlin it was... a _hundred_ times more difficult than usual. He huffed quietly to himself and reached for his drink, he just needed to take a few seconds and not be too loud, if Reborn noticed then Tsuna would be _tortured_ into finishing his homework then and there, correct on the first go or get shot in the head. He didn't want to deal with that and – nuts, he'd run out of soda.

Melon crème Soda was hard to come by, he'd gotten lucky on the way back from school when he spotted the Vending Machine hiding down the side of the little Tea-House, usually you couldn't find it outside of the Nara area. He sighed and crumpled the can, idly tossing it in the general direction of his waste paper bin before heaving himself up to his feet, wincing slightly in pain as he did so. He needed a drink and a break, may as well go and get some tea and see what all the fuss outside was.

He was halfway down the stairs when someone knocked on the front door. Given that his mother was hanging the washing out, everyone else was running riot outside and Tsuna was closest he went to go and open the door, pushing it open he blinked a little in surprise at the obviously foreign teenager who stumbled back a step – obviously not expecting the door to open outwards.

"Hello? Can I help you?" the Tenth Vongola asked nervously, foreigners usually only ever showed up to cause him problems or go after Reborn for whatever reason.

The foreigner was roughly the same height as Tsuna with even an even wilder thatch of black hair, they wore thick baggy clothing that had to be five or six sizes too big and had most definitely seen better days, thick black rimmed glasses obscured a pair of startlingly green eyes as the foreigner blinked at him, looking down awkwardly before reading from a scrap of paper in his hand.

"H-hello. I am looking for a man called Reborn, Iemitsu-san told me he was here," he read rather falteringly.

Tsuna nodded, "Hold on, I'll just go and get him." He tried not to be annoyed over the fact that his father sent this teenager here and yet couldn't be bothered to come home himself and see his mother. His mother who waited to patiently, hopefully, that he would come home and spend some time with her, no matter how small.

"Thank you," the stranger said, smiling brightly as Tsuna retreated back inside and went to go and find his Tutor.

"Reborn? There's someone at the door for you, Dad sent him, apparently," the brunet explained as he came across the altogether rather common sight of Reborn lounging in the back garden, sipping an Expresso while Bianchi sunbathed in entirely too little clothing and both Lambo and I-pin ran riot around his mother's feet as she pegged one of his school shirts to the line. The tiny hitman frowned slightly, setting his cup down.

"I haven't heard anything from him," the fedora wearing infant admitted before snatching Leon off the brim and having he chameleon transform into a gun as he jumped from his seat and made his way inside to the door. Panicking, though not as much as he usually would, Tsuna followed after him hoping against hope that there wasn't going to be a murder on his porch.

"I am Reborn, what do you want?" the Sun Arcobaleno asked as he appeared in the doorway, the teenager blinking at the empty hall before looking down at the toddler at his feet and crouching down, an odd look that Tsuna couldn't understand crossing his face. He got the feeling that the foreigner was upset though, angry and a little tired and defeated?

"I'm sorry, my Japanese is bad. Do you speak English?" the foreigner asked, reading from his scrap of paper as he looked over at Tsuna, seeming to ignore Reborn's presence which... was a little odd given that the hitman was the one he asked to speak to.

"_Tsuna doesn't speak English. Iemitsu sent you to me, why?_" Reborn demanded, his tiny hand tightening warily on Leon's trigger as the foreigner looked down at him in surprise, an expression of realisation crossing his face.

"_I'm looking for Renato Serafino, are you his son?_" Tsuna liked to think he was getting better at reading Reborn's moods, his Tutor tended to maintain a very calm and placid expression that rarely ever showed anything beyond amused tolerance at the world around him and very occasionally a sense of '_You're wasting my time_'. If he hadn't known Reborn so well, he would have thought him completely unmoved, but Tsuna could tell, whatever the foreigner had said it has shocked him, badly. Completely out of left field as Yamamoto would say.

"_How do you know that name?_" Reborn asked, Leon shifting back into his chameleon form under the foreigner's strangely watchful eye. Was it Tsuna's imagination, or did the boy just relax at the totally unnatural sight of a gun transforming into a chameleon?

"_My mother mentioned him in her Will, are you going to answer me or not?_" he asked, actually sitting down amidst the shoes and the dirt of the porch without a care, even Reborn seemed a little surprised by the foreigner's lack of decorum before shrugging it off. Tsuna however winced, why hadn't they invited him in? It was rude to leave someone standing out on the porch, never mind forcing him to sit in it!

"_I'm just trying to get all the information first. Why are you looking for him?_" the Arcobaleno continued.

There was a moment of silence as the teenager studied the little hitman, Tsuna could honestly swear, hand on heart, that he had started sweating like a pig with all the tension in the room right now. He hadn't understood a single word, well, maybe a few, but not enough to have even the slightest idea of what was going on, whoever this foreigner was, he was looking for someone and Reborn wasn't giving him the answers he wanted, for whatever reason.

"_You're not a normal child, are you?_" the teenager asked warily, eyes narrowing under his rather ugly glasses.

Was that a smirk of approval on Reborn's face, "_Indeed not. Why are you looking for Renato Serafino?_" he repeated, the foreigner sighing, his shoulder slumping visibly as he laughed a little depreciatively.

"_Let me guess, _you're _Renato Serafino. Of course, nothing can ever be simple,_" the foreigner muttered watching Reborn carefully for a reaction, the hitman merely stared at him, impassive. "_Two weeks ago I received a letter written by my mother before her death explaining that her husband wasn't in fact my biological father,_" the teenager began to explain before Reborn suddenly groaned and dropped his head into a tiny hand.

"**Sapevo che sarebbe successo un giorno, ma perchè proprio adesso?**" he complained, confusing everyone in the room, "Tsuna, go and make some tea, would you? English milk tea if at all possible, and another Expresso for myself," the hitman requested, looking over his shoulder at the brunet with what Tsuna could almost identify as an expression of... well he couldn't identify it, it was too complicated, as if the Arcobaleno couldn't even decide how he himself felt about this situation, whatever it may be.

"Uh, sure, you want me to bring it to the living room?" he asked, assuming that Reborn was going to invite the strange foreigner inside to talk, whatever it was it must have been important.

"No, upstairs in your room. I don't think... _What is your name anyway?_" he asked in English, turning back to the rather bewildered, and slightly hurt, looking teenager still sitting on the porch.

"_Ha- Ariah,_" he stuttered, clearly correcting himself from saying something he shouldn't have, making Reborn frown in suspicion.

"_Ariah is a girl's name,_" he pointed out, watching as the teenager's face promptly turned red.

"_That's because I _am _a girl,_" he – no, _she_, muttered in embarrassment making Reborn double take and frown.

"_My apologies I did not_ – "

She cut him off, "_Its fine. I'm not – I mean I know I'm not very... girly, its fine,_" she assured him, waving a hand to disregard the accidental insult and Reborn's apology away.

The Arcobaleno nodded, "_Come in, please, Tsuna is just getting some drinks,_" he told her, hopping backwards from the doorway so she could follow in after him. A shy smile lit her face up as she got to her feet, evidentially she had been expecting some kind of rejection, Reborn watched as she dusted herself off idly and came in, closing the door behind her and pulling her shoes off upon seeing everyone else's inside. She wasn't much to look at in all honesty he decided, leading her up the stairs towards Tsuna's room where the Cow and I-pin couldn't interfere, and Bianchi wouldn't attempt to poison her in some misguided attempt to remove the competition.

Reborn hopped up onto Tsuna's table, making note of the fact he had been dawdling on his Algebra homework as his... daughter followed in after him, sitting down awkwardly on the floor and fidgeting with the frayed hems of her baggy jeans. Absurdly baggy and most likely second hand jeans if Reborn was correct, her socks had holes in them, her shoes looked as though they were falling apart, her shirt was clearly made for someone several sizes larger and a head and a half taller, her sweater was handknitted and someone had obviously put a lot of love into the bulky emerald tent that was still a few sizes too big. Her hair was a tangled mess of black strands, slightly curly ones at that, her skin was pale as if she didn't get enough sunlight and her eyes were hidden behind what was possibly the most atrocious pair of glasses he had ever seen a human being wear.

She wasn't much. But apparently she was his.

Perhaps her family was poor? Or was she abused? Well, either way, once he obtained a paternity test to prove whether she was his or not, that would change, good clothes, better glasses, they would have to sort out that mop she was trying to pass off as hair... He wondered how Bianchi would react to essentially becoming a '_Step-mom_', because he knew that was how she would read this situation once he decided to inform her of it.

"_I would like to get some proof of our blood relation before I decide on anything concrete. Would you mind taking a blood test?_" the Arcobaleno asked as gently as possible, he got the impression that despite her name, Ariah was rather timid and he didn't want to frighten her off if she really was his daughter.

She shook her head, "_No, I would welcome it actually._" A stubborn look tightened her face and Reborn was rather fascinated to see himself, twenty years ago, young and annoyed looking back at him in her face, "_I want there to be no doubt, at all,_" she told him, looking at him with those strangely familiar green eyes.

He nodded, "_I'll get a friend of mine to do the test._" While he didn't think Shamal would be suicidal enough to try and grope the girl if he informed the man that there was a chance she was his daughter, there was also the small issue of Shimal's common sense tending to take a hike when he laid eyes on a pair of boobs, such was his problem with Bianchi.

The girl nodded, looking up as Tsuna came in with the drinks.

"Tsuna, give me your phone. I need to call Doctor Shamal," the Arcobaleno demanded as the teenager slid the tray of drinks across the table, flinching slightly when he realised Reborn had gotten a look at his Algebra homework. Then his words registered.

"Eh? But he only treats women," he pointed out in confusion, handing his phone over none the less.

"And he will be treating a woman. I need a paternity test, the young lady's mother here claims that she is my daughter, we would both like some solid evidence," the baby explained as he dialled up Shamal while Tsuna had a mild freak out in the doorway, his daughter watching with wide eyes and a somewhat alarmed expression on her face, clearly not understanding why Tsuna was reacting so badly.

"_Reborn! **Mi chiami raremente in questo periodo, qual'è il problema?**_ (You rarely call me these days, what's the problem?)" the Doctor asked from the other end of the line, for once, sounding sober.

"**Ho bisogno di un test di paternità. Una ragazza giovane donna si è presentata proclamando che sono suo padre.** (I need a paternity test. A young lady has shown up claiming I am her father.)" He could hear Shamal choking on his tongue on the other end of the line, whatever he had been expecting, it most certainly hadn't been that. Reborn probably shouldn't be so amused at the thought of the dirty old womanizer dying from shock, or suffocating on his tongue, it would probably serve him right, a kind of dramatic irony given how that tongue had threatened to suffocate many a beautiful woman.

"_**Davvero? Una ragazza?**_ (Really? A young lady?)" the perverted Doctor demanded, finally having calmed himself down and now sounding entirely too interested.

"**Si. Molto probabilmete è vero.C'è della somiglianza.** (Yes. It is more than likely true. There is a resemblance between us,)" the Arcobaleno confirmed, his voice carrying what was an unmistakable note of warning in its tone, one that made Shamal shiver in his seat despite having several miles between them. He made a mental note to keep his hands to himself, the idea of Reborn having a daughter was frightening enough, if the man... baby... hitman, ended up being one of those over-protective Daddies that Shamal was only oh-so-familiar with, then things could get VERY messy. And painful. For him.

"_**Bene, sarò lì fra un'ora circa.**_ (Alright, I will be there in an hour or so.)" the Doctor declared, deciding that he would be as professional as possible for once in his career. He _really_ didn't want to get on Reborn's bad side, especially if he was going to be as serious about it as he had been about Tsuna's Skullitis – that had been a rather painful period in Shamal's life, the little Hitman had been rather abusive when his cute little student was out of sight.

"**Ci vediamo.** (See you then.)" Reborn agreed before hanging up and observing the girl claiming to be his daughter. She seemed to have attempted to start communicating with Tsuna, though really it was just making him a cup of English milk tea, they seemed to be getting along, rather well actually, there seemed to be an air of understanding between them that Reborn hadn't noticed before. "Ariah?" he asked only to be completely ignored, that confirmed that it wasn't her real name at any rate. "_Miss_," he announced, a little louder to catch their attention, though it may have also been the phone he lobbed at Tsuna's head, "_My friend will be here shortly, about an hour or so. Would you like to stay for dinner, I'm sure Maman wouldn't mind another mouth to feed?_" he offered.

She looked at him in surprise as if the idea of staying hadn't even entered her mind, "_I wouldn't want to impose_," she hedged hesitantly, clearly she wanted to stay, to spend more time with him, but didn't want to be a burden or interfere, how strangely thoughtful, and yet annoying that she had no spine.

"_Its no imposition, really, please stay and join us for dinner_." But Reborn wasn't going to say that, he had been brought up better and one should always treat women, no matter what they may look or act like, with respect and manners. "Tsuna, she will be staying for dinner, please go and inform Maman," the hitman told his cute little student who nodded and quickly scrambled off, rubbing at the small lump on his forehead from where the corner of his phone had made contact. Maybe he should go easier on the boy – no, more fun watching him whimper and squirm.

"_What is your real name?_" Reborn suddenly asked, making her jerk sharply and give him one of those 'Deer in the Headlights' expressions that he had only really seen Chrome-chan do properly before now. "_Ariah is not your real name._"

She shook her head, "_It is. I just..._" she trailed off uncomfortably, "_My mother had two Birth Certificates drawn up, both of them legal, but one had my Step-father's name on it and the name he chose for me, the other had yours and the name my mother picked. She thought that since you were Italian, my name should be as well._" That explained how a British girl ended up with the Italian name of Ariah, meaning '_Lion_'.

"_What is your other name? Clearly you are more familiar with it,_" he pointed out, making her flush again.

"_Its not really very appropriate for a girl_," she admitted, Reborn arched an eyebrow and waited, eventually she caved, "_Harry. My name is, was, Harry_."

How incredibly unfeminine.

**_000_**

Dinner was pleasant, a little chaotic, but pleasant.

Maman had been more than happy to set an extra place for the mysterious Ariah/Harry, she then had to set extra places for Gokudera and Takeshi who showed up in order to spend time with Tsuna. Lambo continued with his own particular brand of chaos until Ariah/Harry scooped him up, out of Gokudera's grasping fingers and proceeded to distract the child so thoroughly that he was utterly enthralled with the foreigner and, **G****razie a Dio**, quiet for the rest of the evening.

Gokudera had scowled at the girl, leering down at her like a territorial cat as he prowled around, hackles raised and Delinquent Sneer painted across his face, hovering at Tsuna's side, marking his territory, and Reborn could just _tell_ from the look in his daughter's eye that she was wondering if he would calm down and stop hissing and spitting at her if she rubbed the back of his neck. The hitman would have paid money to see what the Storm Guardian's reaction would have been if she had, she didn't, but never the less, Gokudera's reaction upon finding out the person he had been insulting and snarling at over the dinner table was a girl and possibly Reborn's daughter had more than made up for the Arcobaleno's lack of entertainment that afternoon. Even Bianchi was still giggling over her brother's freak out while his daughter, Ariah/Harry, had taken everything in stride, proving Reborn's rather callous belief of her being timid wrong.

Takeshi hadn't treated her any differently than he would have anyone on the street, though he did switch to Polite Speech when he found out she was a girl, regardless of the fact she didn't know any Japanese so it would go completely over her head regardless. He tried to engage her over baseball but she quite clearly had no idea what he was talking about so the conversation dried up as the Rain Guardian laughed self consciously and admitted that he shouldn't have formed such a bad habit of falling asleep in his English class.

The Cow was utterly enchanted with the girl who kept him busy and out of the way. I-pin seemed to be of a likewise opinion though she was less annoying about it.

Bianchi seemed to be the only problem in the beginning, Reborn had considered getting her to back off in the beginning, given that this was possibly his daughter, he was rather concerned about how she would react to find him getting fed by a woman who was closer to her age than his. Ariah/Harry hadn't reacted beyond a casual question of whether or not they were together, which Bianchi answered affirmatively and the girl just nodded, paying no further attention to it as she tried the strange foods in front of her. The rosette haired assassin had been possessive upon deciding that Ariah/Harry was female, that only got worse when Reborn announced that she was possibly his daughter, but by the end of the evening, the woman seemed to have decided to take Ariah/Harry under her wing as the poor thing had never had a positive female influence in her life. Obviously.

Reborn was a sadist, he knew it and he revelled in it, which was why he was so confused when the look of sheer horror on the green eyed girl's face when Bianchi declared that they were going to take a bath before Shamal got there didn't stir anything more than a sudden desire to make sure it _never_ appeared on her face again.

"_N-no thank you, really, I don't... I'm not comfortable with..._" she spluttered as Bianchi attempted to pull her towards the downstairs bathroom, the scruffy young woman easily darted out of the Hitwoman's grasp and skittered around to the otherside of the table, "_Its fine really. I don't like walking around with wet hair! I'll shower before bed tonight!_"

"_You really shouldn't go to bed with wet hair, you might catch a cold,_" Bianchi scolded sternly.

Ariah/Harry gave her a flat look, "_It hasn't happened before, so I doubt it will now. Really, no thank you._"

"_Come now, we're both girls, its no problem at all. Besides I want to learn more about you,_" the rosette haired woman chirped as she made another grab for the smaller girl who rather gracefully danced out of reach again, Reborn was finding himself rather amused and intrigued by his daughter's evasive capabilities, not many could continue to dodge Bianchi when she was dead set on something.

"Bianchi, **non affezionarti .Potrebbe anche non essere mia.** (Don't get too attached. She might not be mine,)" the tiny hitman warned in Italian, drawing the legitimate heir to the Hayato Family up short.

She pursed her lips and looked over at him, "**Naturalmente amore mio. Ma sono interessata, è troppo magra ed ha una preoccupante cicatrice sulla mano.** (Of course, my love. But I am concerned, she is too thin and there is a worrying scar on her hand.)" she explained with a pleading look on her face. The mention of a scar had Reborn's eyes snapping over to the young woman, his gaze landing on the odd discolouration of her right hand and what looked like jagged _words_ carved into her skin. Almost as if sensing his line of sight, the hand was discreetly moved out of sight.

He nodded to the rosette haired woman who smiled brightly before _finally_ managing to snag the young girl's arm, "_I'm sure you could fit into some of my old clothes, and we'll see what we can do with that hair of yours,_" the Italian woman cooed, drawing the terrified looking girl against her body, frog marching her out into the hallway, I-pin chasing their heels. Just as someone rang the doorbell. Reborn chuckled at the look of undisguised relief on his daughter's face as Shamal stepped in, this really brought new meaning to the term 'saved by the bell'.

"Reborn, good evening, now, where is this cute little lady claiming to be the unfortunate offspring of yourself?" the Doctor asked boisterously as he kicked his shoes off, he clearly hadn't even looked at the scruffy nestling under Bianchi's arm.

"Right there with Bianchi, her name is Ariah," Reborn explained, nodding to the young woman in question. Shamal's face turned from ecstatic to horrified upon seeing her, Reborn could sympathise somewhat, they were both well known for their admiration of beautiful women and the sorry state that Ariah/Harry had brought herself to them in was something that was quite revolting to their rather delicate sensibilities of feminine beauty.

Shamal nodded, slipping into the role of a pure professional, true his greatest capabilities was in Assassination – Trident Shamal was still a name to be feared, even today – but being in the Mafia required a broad skill set, medicine was one that just clicked with his talents and worked best for him. "_Good evening Miss, my name is Doctor Shamal, Reborn here asked me to do a paternity test for you. Think you could take your sweater off and roll your shirt sleeve up as high as it can get?_" he requested as he set his bag on the kitchen table, Nana having already cleared it before Bianchi attempted to shanghai the young girl into taking a bath with her.

Ariah/Harry slipped free of the rosette haired woman and tipped forward, looking rather like a wary cat as she did so, reluctance rather visible on her face as she pulled off the metaphorical shield that her emerald green sweater represented to her, revealing a body that was entirely too skinny, almost anorexicly so. It also became apparent that she didn't have a bra and had instead opted to use old fashioned bandages instead given how baggy her neckline was that you could see the bindings, but it was the scars that drew everyone's attention.

In addition to the bandages, a very faded scar was visible just peeking out from under them, it looked as if it ran from shoulder to hip given the angle of the pale silvery pink tissue. Her forearm showed what was unmistakably a slash from a knife, vertically from elbow to wrist, one that was not self inflicted if the way the scar leaned away from her indicated. When she rolled up her sleeve, it only revealed another scar, this one large and dark, the veins around it standing out starkly as if it had been poisoned or infected. It looked like a chemical burn that hadn't healed properly if Reborn could compare it to anything he was familiar with.

To his credit, Shamal didn't do much more than blink and move the tourniquet a little to accommodate for the scar tissue and take a little more care in hunting for a vein before drawing blood. Ariah twitched slightly, staring with a kind of morbid fascination as he slid the needle under her skin and sucked out the required amount before placing a cotton-wool bud over the point of entry and removing the needle.

"_Hold this down_," the Doctor requested, "_Keep pressure until the bleeding stops_," he advised, watching as she followed his instructions before he went about bottling and labelling her blood sample and then repeating the procedure on Reborn. "_I should have the results tomorrow morning, I'll come and give them to you both at breakfast_," he promised with a small smile at the obviously hard done by young girl, she had led a hard life and been treated badly by others. Her arms held the classic signs of malnutrition and starvation over a long period of time, her bones were fragile, almost bird-like under his hands as he handled her wrist and forearm. He almost wanted her to be Reborn's daughter, just because he knew that the miniature Hitman would make sure she was taken care of from that exact moment onward. He may have been a womanizer but he was hardly an immoral pig, little girls should be pampered and taken care of, ladies should be treated like the queens they were and admired for their beauty.

"_Thank you,_" the girl told him earnestly and he couldn't help but glow a little, most of the time when he treated girls they ended up screaming and trying to file lawsuits against him, genuine gratitude was few and far between, he found that he rather appreciated it.

"_I'll be seeing you tomorrow_," he promised before bowing out.

"What happens if she really is Reborn-san's daughter? Will she and her mother come and live here?" Gokudera asked curiously.

Reborn shook his head, "Ariah's mother is dead, that's how she found out about me. Her Will apparently informed her of her true parentage. But yes, I imagine she would come and live here." He would make sure of it, he did not like the current state she was in, it made his insides twist uncomfortably to think that his child could have possibly been abused, attacked, hurt, possibly for being his and neither of them even knowing it. If she was his child, there would be hell to pay for anyone who dared lay a hand on her, he may not have been able to help Tsuna with the majority of his fights due to the nature of them – most of them being attacks against the Vongola Familia, he was forbidden to get involved with them as he was not a member of the Vongola familia, merely a good friend of the Ninth whom had been charged with training Tsuna to become the man he needed to become. He would not have that leash when it came to protecting _his_ child.

"_Its getting late,_" Ariah suddenly announced, looking at the clock, edging a little bit away from Bianchi in a way that fooled pretty much everyone apart from Reborn who was gradually growing more concerned with what else his daughter may be hiding under those clothes that made her so opposed to shared bathing. "_I should probably head back, I'm not sure what time Reception closes up_," she admitted, ah, she was staying in a hotel, that was strangely comforting, he had visions of her camped out or sleeping on a parkbench.

"Gokudera, Takeshi, could you please walk Ariah to her hotel?" the Hitman requested, looking seriously at the two teenagers, Gokudera nodding immediately, his spine straightening under the perceived orders, his cheeks still flushed with guilt and embarrassment, Takeshi chuckled and nodded, flashing him a thumbs up.

"Sure, can't let pretty girls wonder around after dark alone, s'not safe," he assured the Sun Arcobaleno, prompting a smile from the little Hitman.

"_Ariah, Gokudera and Takeshi will walk you back to your hotel,_" he told her, feeling a slight touch of amusement at the flash of confusion and then annoyance that crossed her face, yes he was giving her an escort, if she really was his daughter then she had best get used to it, he wasn't going to allow anything to happen to her not after spending so many years neglecting her until she ended up like... well, _this_.

"_Alright,_" she managed to get out, her voice tight with suppressed irritation. They were going to have their hands full with her, she was an independent little thing, he could tell now that his previous estimations of her were wrong, "Thank you Gokudera-san, Takeshi-san," she said to the boys, bowing slightly to be polite. "Thank you everyone, goodnight," she added to the rest of the room before making her way out to put her shoes on.

The Storm and Rain Guardians gave their goodbyes and hurried after her.

_**000**_

_****Sapevo che questo sarebbe accaduto un giorno, ma perché ora, di tutti i tempi?****_ - meaning: I knew that this would happen one day, but why now, of all times?

_**G****razie a Dio**_ - meaning: Thank God.

I'm using an online translation machine, apologies for any poor or offensive Italian (Mum stole my phrasebook) 8(

**And the end of chapter one. Did you guys enjoy it? Its a bit different from how I usually do things, a little less description and a little more character interaction and a whole lot of plot and no scene setting. That's in the next chapter. I want you guys to start scratching your heads going 'What?' before I do a grand **_**revelio**_**.**

_**000**_

Special Thanks to: Natsukyi and Nekoneko-xyz for correcting my Italian translations. You guys are gems.


	2. Chapter 2

**WINTERTIDE**

_Barely two days after returning from the Future, a stranger appears on Tsuna's doorstep looking for Reborn. Wait, what? The Sun Acrobaleno is a father!_

**Warnings for Gokudera's mouth, Hibari's violence, gender-bender and a little bit of canon-divergence.**

**Pairings undecided.**

_**000**_

**CHAPTER TWO**

If there was anything more awkward than waking up from a potions induced coma with some additions and subtractions, Harry James Potter had yet to encounter it and almost wished he could so he could then kill and destroy it so that no trace of its existence could be found – thus allowing him to claim, without argument, that randomly waking up as a girl after spending almost sixteen years as a boy was the most awkward, surreal and _horrifying_ experiences any living being could go through.

Harry, Ariah he had to – _she_ had to remind _herself_, sighed from where he was lying back on his hotel bed, Hermione chattering a way a mile a minute to her parents over the phone, Japan was eight hours ahead of England so it was roughly... half-past one in the afternoon. She had managed to get hold of them during their Lunch Break at the Dental Practice. He made a mental note to get them something nice as a souvenir, without their help, he never would have been able to come to Japan to look for his Biological Father. He sighed, that had been a task and a half as well, they had wanted to come with them but it had only been their daughter's assurances, the promise of daily phonecalls and updates along with a promise from Harry to make sure that they remained safe.

Hermione had been really great about it all too. He smiled over at her, watching in amusement as she wriggled in her seat, cross legged with the phone glued to her ear. Her hair was a riot of curls instead of the usual bushy frizz because she had gotten out of the shower as Harry returned from meeting his father and had immediately set upon quizzing him for answers, not bothering to brush or blow-dry her hair, meaning it dried naturally into the thick wild curls her towel had twisted them into. At the disastrous end of his Fifth Year, after Sirius and the Prophesy and everything just falling apart, he had been sat in the common room the night before the Train was due to leave, staring into the fire and thinking when she came downstairs, wrapped up in her dressing gown and pyjamas, Crookshanks in her arms and sat down beside him, her legs drawn up beneath her. And she had waited.

And he finally told her.

The Prophesy, the sinking feeling that there had been a mistake, Dumbledore's desire to protect him and use him as a shield at the same time, tearing him apart with his ambivalence, the Dursleys, the similarities between him and the Dark Lord and the fear that one day he would become just like him... that the man had already done something to him, because there was something dark in his mind now, oily and uncomfortable and there, like an ulcer on his gums, or a piece of meat stuck between his teeth but in his brain.

She had listened. And then she rolled her sleeves up, summoned Parchment and a Quill and got to work, trying to figure out what to do to change that, to make things better and give him some measure of peace.

She helped him plan to _do_ something about it.

Which was more than Dumbledore ever had.

During the train ride home, after the DA had so spectacularly risen to the call of duty by improving Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle's physical appearance a hundred fold – by turning them into very large, slimy and only vaguely humanoid shaped slugs – the Lioness had stumbled across a potion in one of her large tomes that no one had read probably since it was written judging by how battered it looked. It certainly wasn't a book from the Library or the Restricted Section, Madam Pince wouldn't allow her precious collection of animal skins to get in such a condition. No, more likely she had been digging through the Room of Requirements or found some abandoned classrooms and forgotten textbooks within.

But the Potion she found was designed to reveal and enhance natural and dormant talents.

She had pointed it out to Harry as the possible answer to his '_Powers He Knows Not_' problem. After all, how could Voldemort know of a power he possessed if he himself didn't? Harry would have kissed her if it wouldn't have been creepy, slightly incestuous and more than likely to get Ron trying to stab him to death with a chessboard. Which would have been funny to watch happen to _other people_ but not to much to him, the corners of those things were pointy and sharp – Wizards didn't have much belief in the whole Health and Safety/Surgeon General's Warning "This board may have sharp edges, not suitable for ages 3 and under". Or the ever glorious "Warning: This sign has sharp edges" he saw once online while passing Dudley's room and hearing him snickering at something or other between masturbation sessions on porn websites or displaying his cock on Chat Roulette with Piers for laughs – Harry was quite determined not to think about what else those two may get up to or why they were displaying themselves online and to each other. That way lay only madness.

And the desperate need for brain bleach.

Barely a handful of days later, Hermione showed up on his doorstep at Privet Drive, spinning some fanciful tale about how she used to know both Dudley and Harry back in Junior School and heard about Harry going into St Brutus's, given that she planned to join the Police Academy upon leaving Secondary School would it be alright if she spoke to him, got a feel for what it was like working with a delinquent and possibly learn about the school itself so she can better decide who may need to go there in future. Vernon bought it hook, line, sinker and rod, it was almost as embarrassing as it was glorious to watch the Gryffindor girl so masterfully deceive his Uncle and lead him around by the nose.

An hour later, Harry was bundled in the back of Mrs Granger's land rover, parked around the corner out of sight, and on his way to Southampton where his friend lived with her parents not too far away from a local university and secondary school. It took two hours to get there, during which Hermione told him that she'd made the potion but wasn't sure if she'd gotten it right, so she brewed something called a Dispeller, it was only used when incorrect potions or medical charms had been applied, it suppressed the patient's natural magic and then removed ALL foreign magics that pervaded the body. It wasn't very popular for that fact alone, it suppressed a person's natural magic which had every chance of putting them into shock, which a hundred or even fifty years ago would have been a death sentence as no one knew how to deal with shock. Now though, now even kids in Junior school were taught to recognise and handle shock victims during their year five health education classes, typically it was used to teach about sex education but it included some first aid stuff as well, the recovery position, concussions, the difference between sprains, breaks and fractures, shock, pneumonia, asthma, nothing overtly practical, just telling them how to handle them until the professionals could get there.

According to her research (extensive research she added, practically glowing with accomplishment), the Awakening Potion would take only an hour to get to work, there would only be a very vague sense of warmth in his chest and what could probably be described as a butterfly sensation in his stomach and a bad case of pins and needles up and down his arms and legs. If things went wrong, like if he started to suffer seizures, which was a listed side affect of a botched potion, her mother and father would hold him down while she administered the Canceller Potion. Then, all they could do was wait and hold his hair out from his face as he vomited up both potions and any rogue magic in his system.

It sounded unpleasant and that it would take a while, Hermione promised that if he got too violently ill and had to stay the night, then she would go and get his things from the Dursleys and tell them the real story. He advised her to threaten them with the Aurors and Azkaban if they got out of hand or just generally too rude to her, and remind Petunia about how Purebloods view children, and how they see Muggles. The look the Gryffindor girl had given him was a strange mix of understanding, horrified and resigned, Hermione really was too smart for her own good, that or Harry had just been too obvious the more relaxed he became around her and Ron.

Never the less, laid out on the Granger's living room floor with a vast number of cushions and blankets around him to prevent any damage if he did seize, he drank the potion.

It worked. For all of forty-five minutes.

Then he started spasming and gasping for air as things went horribly, horribly wrong. Hermione's parents had thrown themselves over his arms and legs as their daughter quickly shoved more pillows under his head so he couldn't crack his skull open, flicking her Wand (it would be after they reached Japan that he learned she had applied for exception from the Underage Magic Laws due to her Muggleborn nature and the need to put Wards up around her home and defend herself) she forced the Canceller Potion down his neck.

Harry had passed out by this point.

When he woke up, it was to Hermione's sweaty and somewhat tearful face, he had been unconscious for two hours after vomiting up everything in his stomach and what was almost half a pint of blood. The Grangers had been on the verge of calling the hospital or the Ministry of Magic to get a Healer from St Mungos over to examine him when he finally came too, a little bloody, very sweaty and... different.

Five minutes after his awakening, a letter from Gringotts arrived. Hermione collected it while Harry pushed himself up and tested his arms and legs to make sure they were still working, it was only when he checked his chest for bruising that he noticed something... odd. Something unusually soft and... squishy. Frowning, he lifted his shift and then promptly started swearing up a blue streak, ignoring the startled, reflexive, admonishments from both Hermione and Mrs Granger, both of which fell silent out of sheer shock when they too realised just what he was looking at.

_Breasts._

Soft, pale white mounds of flesh, irrefutably attached to his unusually slim frame – wait a minute, his waist line had changed as well! – with dusky pink nipples just beginning to pinch with the chill in the room, the long thin scar from his run in with the Hungarian Horntail during the Triwizard Tournament running from hip to shoulder, snaking up between them as his breathing began to come out in panicked pants of disbelief. He felt light headed.

Hermione's brain was the first one to kick in as she promptly yanked his shirt down and shrieked at her father to get out of the room, he did so without complaint still too stunned to react.

Harry's vision was going grey and his friend was forced to slap him repeatedly before punching him in the gut to get him to actually breathe, it wasn't a pleasant encounter but if she hadn't done it, he probably would have passed out in an exceptionally manly fashion (re: faint like the girl he apparently _**is**_?). It had taken a further ten minutes to calm him down and get him to stop swearing, and start blinking as well, he'd kind of stopped doing that when he saw the... abominations attached to himself. Mrs Granger was holding his hand tightly, talking to him soothingly as her daughter quickly cast a plethora of charms to figure out what the hell just happened and why her bestfriend, her best _guy friend_, was suddenly a girl. Because even with magic involved, that was just fucking weird.

The letter from Gringotts was left forgotten on the coffee table until Mr Granger – who had made himself useful in the kitchen – returned with a tray of tea cups and a fresh pot of vanilla tea and asked them to clear the table so he could set it down. With shaking hands, and a definite sense of denial creeping up on Harry, he cracked the wax seal and picked up the first loose missive, it was a letter from Gringotts, or rather, one of their human employees – something akin to a solicitor.

The letter explained that the second, sealed, letter was from his mother and they had been tasked to deliver it upon the breaking of certain enchantments upon his person. They wished him a good day and reminded him that Sirius Black's Will reading would be in five days at Gringotts, Conference Room 4 at twelve O'clock noon, they looked forward to his presence and if he were unavailable at such a date a rescheduling was possible. Harry, slightly numb, skipped the rest of the details about how to go about rescheduling and took the second letter, cracking the second wax seal, this one with the imprint of a flower – not a lily oddly enough – and unfolding the delicate papers.

The letter was indeed from his mother, but it included something extra, another birth certificate. Ariah Jasmine Serafino, born July 31, weighing five and a half pounds, born to Lily Penelope Evans (British National) and Renato Serafino (Italian National), witnessed by Dr St Bernard of the Princess Margaret Maternity Hospital, London.

She wrote that when she married James, his mother took her aside and explained some of the more ruthless facts of life that would face her as the wife of a Pureblood man. She had stressed these points viciously and from the sound of things if she did not uphold these unspoken rules, then her already poor standing within the Wizarding World was going to plummet to the depths of something best not contemplated. After all, Divorce was simply unheard of, but quietly being shuffled off in favour of a variety of mistresses, left to rot in a tiny estate at the other end of the country, never to see the light of polite society, to walk down a street and not be greeted with sneers and dirty looks of contempt? That was something else entirely, and a lot more soul crushing in the opinion of dear Mother in Law. Lily had been so cowed by the Pureblood woman, the former Lady Black, that she had bowed to the woman's demands without fight or thought.

_The first born must always be __**male**_.

Harry had felt something leap up from the pit of his stomach and lodge, very uncomfortably, in his throat as he read his mother's wobbly handwriting as she put those damning words onto paper. The first born child must always be male, in order to carry out the family name and prevent any squabbles over Heirship, usually, Pureblood families wouldn't give much of a care for the gender of their children, the Black Sisters for example, Arthur Weasley's five older sisters for example. However, that is different for Half-Blood families. Girls born to those families are... undesirable as breeding stock, marriage potential is ruined by their... less than pure bloodlines. Meaning their Dowries have to be larger, making their existence more expensive to the family. As the Muggles in the middle east say "_Why water another man's garden?_", female children were a liability for a Half-blood family. And Lily, being both the mother and Muggle-born, would be held responsible for the gender of the child and '_her_' resulting uselessness.

But it turns out that wasn't the only problem that faced the young Muggle-born newly wed.

James was sterile.

Too much in-breeding amongst the Purebloods had rendered him infertile, sterile, _impotent_. And she was the one being blamed. Oh it was never said, but it was there in every well meaning question about her health, whether she had been seen by a Healer, was everything alright between her and James, in every judgemental look and slightly haughty sniff the other women gave her, it was in the way Molly would fuss and ply her with food, muttering about how no one could expect her to have little ones when she was too thin to do so safely. A year after their wedding and there had been no news of a pregnancy, regardless of the war and her lack of desire to bring a child into that environment, it was expected that she would be with child by now. And her lack of baby-bump was, according to everyone else in only the most polite of _inescapable_ terms, _her fault_.

She made herself ill from the amount of stress and pressure she was under, one that threatened to damage her mentally until she found herself in a Muggle Bar in the middle of France, James having stormed off in a huff after she snapped at him that she was fine, the Healers had confirmed there was nothing wrong with her so perhaps the problem was with him! He had of course denied that and kicked off, their infamous tempers sparking and clashing against one another until something exploded and Lily ran into the bathroom in tears to calm herself down, James storming out and Apparating back to England to get rat-arsed with Sirius and Peter. Sitting alone in the hotel room wasn't her idea of fun, her blood was high and she felt over-all very sorry for herself, so she went out and hunted down a bar in which to get equally as rat-arsed as her husband.

Perhaps it was the stress, or maybe she felt unwanted or unappreciated by her husband who seemed to only care about her breeding potential of late, but either way, she met a very charming Italian man there who paid her a highly flattering amount of attention, sweet talking her, cheering her up, showering her with affection and compliments that she had never received in her life, even from James. She never told him about her marriage, just spoke about her partner in the vaguest of terms. Admitting that his mother was putting incredible pressure on her for social reasons that made her want to punch the elitist bitch's teeth in.

Four hours later, they were back in the hotel room, doing things that Lily had only ever done with James before, and some that they hadn't, but was too drunk, lonely and worked up to care about at that moment in time.

The next morning, she woke up to a cold bed and grey rain against the windows, feeling sick to her stomach to guilt and too much alcohol.

She never told James about her unfaithfulness, nor did he know the gender of their child, she claimed she wanted to keep it a surprise and refused to allow the Muggle Doctors to scan and find out. Due to Voldemort hunting them, she didn't risk going to St Mungos and James, after a rather lengthy argument, agreed with her logic. Never knowing that she dyed her hair temporarily, used colour contacts, a padded bra, high-heels and coloured foundation to sneak into St Mungos under a fake name to find out the gender of her child.

A girl. Her heart had sunk down to the bottom of her shoes.

Not only was her baby from another man, but it was also female. If anyone ever found out...

She had very nearly lost her baby in the following weeks, stress mounting up to dangerous levels, Madam Pomfrey had saved her life and the life of her child by figuring out why one of her favourite Gryffindors was behaving so strangely. James became rabidly protective of her upon discovering how unwell she had become – bitterly she admitted that at the time she believed his concern was less for her and more for her ability to squirt out more of the ungrateful bastard's progeny. But he was away so often and, ironically, it was the death of his parents that eased the largest portion of his wife's stress, allowing her to sleep without nightmares, and eat without throwing up an hour later.

In the time he was away, Lily prepared.

She made potions and researched enchantments, all to change the gender of her baby and blood adopt it as James's instead of that mysterious Muggle man, Renato Serafino, whom she met at the bar. The man who saved her marriage by ironically putting it into danger.

Her baby was born a little boy, James's little boy.

But she knew. She knew that it wasn't his little boy and that someday, his little boy might become a little girl, and as much as the thought scared her, as she held the tiny life in her arms, she was even sadder to know that she was robbing her child of who they truly were on the foolishness of a Pureblood Doctrine and the pressures of a society she was rapidly growing to hate.

So she went to Gringotts, she drew up another birth certificate and wrote the letter her daughter was reading now, explaining everything, listing potions and enchantments she could use to find the other half of her blood, if she desired. It was her choice, Lily had stolen enough of those from her child, she was determined to allow her little girl, her little lion, to make this one on her own.

As if it had been a choice.

The second Harry had finished reading, he showed it to Hermione and asked if she knew how to brew those, when she answered affirmative to only two of them, he begged her to do it, that he would pay for all the ingredients. She agreed and the next morning, Harry and Mr Granger returned to the Dursleys to collect his belongings with only minimal fuss from the Walrus and the Giraffe until Harry threatened them with Child Services in the Magical World. After all, they had Truth Serums, they would believe him.

For better or worse, Harry was going to find his biological father and see if the other half of his family were better than the one he had been stuck with the past fifteen years.

_**000**_

-CLICK- "Ciaossu."

"_Reborn, I have the results._"

"Shamal, what's the verdict?"

"_Positive match. She's yours alright, and judging by the way her mother looks in this photo I just dug up, you're going to have your hands full beating people away from her in a few years. I can see why you couldn't keep your hands to yourself._"

-CLICK, BOOO BOOO BOOO...

_**000**_

Reborn stared at the phone for a few seconds, digesting what he had just been told.

He had a daughter. That scruffy little nestling from yesterday was, in fact, his legitimate offspring, his child, his daughter. He had a lot to think about. Her mother for instance, the woman was dead probably recently if the fact she had only found him now, the fact she had met Iemitsu and knew his real name meant that she had no connection with the Mafia world. But those scars showed that someone had harmed her, his eyes narrowed as his little hand gripped the phone tightly, causing the plastic to creak threateningly. She needed protection. He would bring her into the Family, Timoteo would need to be informed about her presence, her existence, she would be protected under the umbrella of the Vongola when he wasn't physically there to do it instead. His old friend would also boost his pay, the amount he had before now was fine for a man of his skill, age and lifestyle, but now that he had a child to think about, the amount of money he was earning just wasn't enough to cover both of their needs. Not without taking a few Contract Hits out and he couldn't leave Tsuna for very long, certainly not long enough to do a Hit, not a successful one at any rate.

Not to mention everything he would have to do for his daughter immediately, like starting with a trip to the hairdresser and shopping centre, she was wearing rags and he was not going to tolerate it. He would also take her to the hospital for a full check up, he trusted Shamal, but _not_ with his daughter. Especially not when she would have to get naked to be properly examined.

He dialled up Gokudera, ordering him to collect Yamamoto and to go to Ariah's hotel and gather both her and her belongings. She would be moving into Tsuna's house, Nana wouldn't mind, she liked a full house and Iemitsu had sent her here so if he had any complaints he could go and eat a horse dick as far as Reborn cared. The sooner his daughter was within his protection, the less antsy he would be.

Thank God Lambo decided to back the hell out of the room without bothering him for once, or he probably would have murdered the Lightning Guardian for real this time.

_**000**_

_Tah'dah!_** And thus I have explained how Harry became Ariah while remaining Harry. XDDD**

**Now, some house-keeping to do.**

**The pairings are undecided. They'll write themselves when they want to be written, however, I'm not fond of Tsuna/Kyoko and while Bianchi/Reborn makes me cringe a little due to the... physical logistics, I'm sticking with it. Tsuna and Kyoko are getting broken up though, they'll probably end up BFFs of the lifelong variety, sat in their rocking chairs at the same care home playing Scrabble or some such with Gokudera sat right beside them swearing at Yamamoto who's too busy cheering over the baseball game on the TV.**

**Harry is not going to change.**

**He's... she's, still Harry, still got a Hero-Complex, still got a temper, still a bloke in mind, hence why the constant 'he/him' personal pro-nouns. He's just got boobs and internal plumbing now. **

**Ron will not be a dick, well, he will, but he won't be a traitorous dick. He'll be Ron. A block-head with the emotional depth of a Teaspoon and the curious ability to cram his feet so far down his throat he can kick his OWN ass.**

**FYI, ****no one**** knew about Lily and Reborn. Not even Dumbledore, Voldemort, Sirius, James, Snape or Remus.**


	3. Chapter 3

**WINTERTIDE**

_**000**_

**CHAPTER THREE**

Gokudera Hayato sighed, he was so glad today was Sunday, not that he wouldn't have minded if it were any other day of the week! No, of course not! Family Business came _one hundred percent_ first, head and shoulders above the rest, undoubtedly, he would have ditched school with a song in his heart and a smile on his face at Reborn-san's command, he was just glad that he didn't have to deal with the bitching that the teachers would gas on and on about if he had. He beamed giddily as he made his way down the street towards the Hotel where he had dropped off the girl last night, it was a nice place, not too expensive but not too cheap and it was fairly close to the Middle School, so not too far away either.

"Gokudera-kun!" Oh great, it was the Baseball Freak.

Hayato scowled, good mood thoroughly ruined as he ground his teeth in annoyance, the perpetually cheerful pain in his ass jogging over, all smiles and sunshine as he drew level, "Reborn-san gave me a ring, said that we were collecting Ariah-chan for a Family meeting this morning. So its true? She really is his daughter?" he asked excitedly, making the scowl on Hayato's face lessen.

"Yeah, Shamal confirmed it twenty minutes ago. She's his alright. He ran the tests five times just to be certain. Reborn-san plans to bring her in today though I get the feeling he's going to keep her out of the actual Mafia," he explained softly as they made their way down the street. Yamamoto nodded.

"Like Kyoko-san and Haru-san," he decided as they stepped through the sliding doors of the hotel.

"I think so," the silver haired Italian admitted as he looked around, he didn't actually known what Ariah-san's room number was, or her last name for that matter, he frowned looking around the Lobby, there were only three people there and none of them were the girl they were looking for. An elderly couple were chatting quietly over cups of tea next to the door and a young lady with thick curly brown hair was reading a book on one of the sofa chairs.

She looked up as if she could feel his eyes on him and smiled, closing her book and getting to her feet, "Hayato-san?" she asked making her way over, book held under her arm. She was pretty and surprisingly tall, about the same height as Gokudera himself, her skin was lightly tanned and her hair was thick and curly, falling just below her shoulders, large brown eyes smiled up at him from a distinctly European face. She was wearing a pale yellow top and a white knee length skirt with lace and ribbons sewn into it.

"Yeah," he confirmed, a little warily. He couldn't see any weapons on her but that didn't mean she wasn't dangerous – heck, that book of hers could be a weapon, it was certainly thick enough.

"**My name is Hermione Granger, I'm a friend of Ariah's,**" she told him in slightly awkward Italian, "**I take it the test results are back then.**"

Hayato nodded, a little surprised, the girl was here with a friend and not her guardians? Then again, who was he to judge, he came charging over to Japan to test the Juudaime without telling his family or planning anything, heck, he had managed to get an apartment but he was barely making rent these days without a decent job. Not to mention how much money he spent on explosives, cigarettes and lighters.

"**Yeah. Reborn asked us to come and take her back to Tsuna's house,**" he explained, sticking his hands in his pockets and giving the room another go over, just in case the girl was lurking in a corner somewhere, too nervous to come out.

"**She's up in our room. Come on, I need to put this book away,**" the pretty brunette told him, gesturing at the pair to follow her as she made her way to the stairs, the two teenagers following along after her with awkward glances, not quite sure what to think about an invitation to follow a girl up to her room.

"_Harry? Are you decent?_" the girl called through the door as she knocked, she didn't think Harry would appreciate it if she walked in while he was naked and letting the two behind her see him in all his... her glory.

"_Yeah_," the other teenager grunted from the otherside.

Smiling slightly, Hermione unlocked their door and opened it wide as she stepped in, pausing only briefly to wince internally as she heard the startled choke of the boys behind her. Nothing was showing true, but what her friend _was_ wearing left very little to the imagination.

Harry looked up from where he was lounging stomach down on his bed, book out in front of him with Hedwig nesting beside him and an unfamiliar little yellow songbird perching on his head, he was wearing nothing more covering than a pair of blue stripped boxers and an olive green sports tank-top that showed a more than generous amount of cleavage. The fact that Harry seemed to have forgotten that he was female again went unnoticed by everyone except Hermione who was flushed in embarrassment _for_ him. With a speed that belied her frame, she shoved the two boys outside and slammed the door shut, startling the little yellow bird from Harry's head making it take flight out of the open window with a chirping cry of 'Hiiiibahriiii'.

"_When I asked if you were decent I didn't mean your underwear!_" she complained, watching as he sat up, legs unfolding under him. She couldn't stop the slight pang of jealousy when she realised how perky the other teenager's breasts were without the support of a bra – though that could be attributed to the fact he had smaller breasts than her. "_Come on, the test results are back, we need to get you dressed,_" she declared, grinning. She had been trying to give Harry something of a make-over for a while but held off due to how uncomfortable he was over this whole, '_turning into a girl_' thing, now though, it was needed because he had to make a good impression.

Harry spluttered but wasn't able to argue overly much as Hermione yanked him into the bathroom, efficiently stripping him without giving him a chance to escape or cover up before he was getting shoved into the shower which was pretty hot. He yelped as the girl attacked him with body wash and shampoo, her top got pretty wet during the resulting events as he tried to get her to stop scrubbing suddenly very sensitive places. The shower was abruptly turned off and he got yanked out of the shower and wrapped up in a towel and dried off despite his yelps that he could do it himself and would she _please_ stop touching him there!

A comb and some gel were applied to his hair before Hermione dug into her bag and pulled out some sufficiently nice clothing for him to wear, he balked and very nearly ran out of the room butt naked when she held up a small black skirt. All skirts were forbidden and in the end, after an argument that Harry lost, he ended up wearing a pair of Hermione's tan three-quarter length cargos, a V-necked teal green top that hid the bandages flattening his breasts and keeping them in place along with the scars up and down his arms rather well, and a navy blue hair band to hide the lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead and keep his newly tamed hair from falling into his eyes. He looked... weird. The only thing that Hermione couldn't get him to wear were a pair of her sandals, he refused and pointedly stamped into his trainers.

Rolling her eyes, the girl changed out of her damp yellow top into a nice pale blue one with pink and purple flowers on the left hip and pulled her hair back.

"**Sorry for taking so long,**" the brown haired Gryffindor said as she opened the door to the rather anxious looking teenage boys, "**Ariah was being ****difficult****,**" she explained, casting a glare over her shoulder to the dark haired _girl_ who appeared from where she had been hiding just out of sight.

Hayato and Takeshi stared, in clothes that fit and with her hair tamed, she was... actually quite pretty, rather delicate and small, though the scowl on her face detracted from the cuteness factor her big eyes and petite facial structure gave her.

"**Its fine, I take it you'll be coming with us?**" Hayato asked, looking at the curly haired girl who nodded firmly.

"**Ariah's my best friend. I want to meet this Renato myself,**" she told the Storm Guardian with an oddly ferocious look in her eyes that made him grin in approval as he watched the taller of the girls pull Reborn's daughter closer and shut the door behind them. It was almost looking at himself and the Juudaime, almost – he had to concede the point that the girls were better looking.

The walk to the Juudaime's house was rather uncomfortably quiet, the Baseball Freak didn't seem to notice as he trailed along after them, smiling cluelessly as Granger-san and Ariah-san chatted quietly to each other with Gokudera leading the way back to Tsuna's place. Silently wondering what was going to happen now, because he doubted if Granger-san was going to leave Ariah in another Country, God and all the Kami knew that he wouldn't allow it if Juudaime was on another continent.

Barely a split second after turning into the front garden, a pink blur darted past Gokudera – who began to foam at the mouth and shake – and latched onto the dark haired girl with a squeal of girlish delight babbling too quickly in Italian for anyone to figure out what the hell she was even saying. Yamamoto laughed as Harry wriggled and squirmed frantically in the rosette haired woman's arms as she crushed him to her chest, rubbing her cheek against his head and cooing about how they would have lots of fun shopping and she would teach her how to cook and they would do each other's hair and how Bianchi was going to teach her how to be a lady. All the while Harry wriggled like a cat thrown in a bathtub, desperate to escape while Hermione just stared, stunned at this strange woman who was... enthusiastically greeting her bestfriend. Showering his forehead with sakura-pink lipstick kiss marks.

"EXTREEEME!" a male voice roared enthusiastically, "THIS IS REBORN-DONO'S DAUGHTER? SHE IS **EXTREEEEMELY** OUR AGE! YOU MUST JOIN THE BOXING CLUB!" Hermione squeaked and jumped to the side as a well built white haired teenager rushed over, darting around and circling the two girls while a young girl with golden brown hair chased after him.

"Oniichan! Oniichan, don't crowd her! Reborn hasn't told her the results!" the girl cried, coming to a stop and leaning over, winded and panting for breath as she braced her hands on her knees.

"I'M **EXTREEEMELY** SORRY!" the teenager howled, gripping his hair in remorse.

"Cease your blathering, or I shall bite you to death," another voice appeared, the Gryffindor woman felt a chill go down her spine at the purring menace in the dark haired teenager's voice as he appeared on the scene, a familiar yellow song-bird perched on his shoulder.

"_Ah! Its the bird from earlier,_" Harry blurted as he finally ducked out of Bianchi's grasp, smiling as the bird chirped in recognition and fluttered over to land on her head, pulling at a few strands of hair, "_Sorry, Hermione combed it all out nice and neat, no nest for you this time_," he told the little bird, ignoring the presence of all the completely _insane_ people that were currently loitering inside and outside the Sawada residence.

Hermione could only shake her head at Harry's obvious social stunting, when overwhelmed, he would much rather interact with an animal or just squirrel himself away in the corner of the room with a familiar face rather than get caught up in everything around him. He was exactly the same at the Yule Ball, even though she spent the evening with Viktor, she couldn't help but feel sorry for him whenever she caught sight of him, he was forced to stay at the event because of his Champion Status but he _hated_ social functions and crowds. She blamed the Dursleys for that.

The only ones who actually noticed were the bird's owner, Hermione and Bianchi, the latter of which grabbed her new daughter by the arm and towed her into the house, "_Come on, Reborn is waiting for us in the living room_," she chirped excitedly, barely even pausing long enough to let Harry take his shoes off before they were in the living room. Hermione glanced nervously at the dark haired teenager who owned the bird, he ignored her, she shuddered and quickly fled into the house, suddenly reminded of the cold ruthlessness and capacity for violence she had seen in the eyes of Lucius Malfoy at the Department of Mysteries. That teenager, that man, was very dangerous.

Behind her, Hibari Kyouya pulled out his Tonfas and went to go and break up the crowding pack of herbivores. The baby had summoned them for a reason and he wanted to know what it was before he went to go and patrol the trouble spots around his city.

_**000**_

"_So... what happens now?_" Hermione asked, looking carefully at Reborn, he certainly wasn't what she expected when Harry told her there was a problem with his father, the problem being that he had been deaged to an infant state. She had never heard of such a thing though there were a lot of rumours that the Upper Years liked to frighten the Firsties with, about Potions accidents that turned you into a baby and then the Headmaster forcing you to be taken care of, or take care of, your worst enemy as a form of trying to end House Rivalries. Poor Neville had bought most of them hook-line and sinker in their first year.

Once everyone had come into the house, the boys who had been outside now looking rather scuffed up – with the exception of the Dangerous Boy – everyone found a place to sit or lean within the living room as Reborn introduced everyone and explained the situation. The girls seemed very enthusiastic about Harry being Reborn's daughter, either they were in the know about the dark haired male's adult status, or they really were that airheaded. General exclamations went up amidst the boys who didn't know about the situation, though the Dangerous One merely frowned slightly and studied Harry who was looking rather uncomfortable with all the attention and focusing all his attention on the small bird who was lapping it up like a feline would catnip flavoured milk.

"_What do you mean, Miss Granger?_" Reborn asked, frowning slightly.

"_I mean, what happens now? What are you planning? Ariah still has legal guardians back in England and we both attend boarding school up there,_" the curly haired girl explained, her arms and legs folded as she leaned back in her seat, Harry sat cross-legged on the floor beside her.

The baby very nearly scowled from the looks of things, "_I will apply for custody and have her transferred here_," he explained as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Harry however, looked up sharply at this and glared, "_No, you won't,_" he snapped, taking everyone in the room by surprise, even those who couldn't understand his words, if only due to the sheer aggression in his voice. The bird chirped and fluttered out from between his fingers, flitting across the room and alighting on the Dangerous One's shoulder. "_I came to find you because I wanted to get to know you. Nothing more._"

"_And yet clearly you need someone to take care of you because whomever has been doing so before now hasn't been doing a very good job,_" the Arcobaleno retorted, folding his tiny arms and meeting his daughter's gaze head on.

"_I'm_ fine_. I'm not going to let you drag me off to the otherside of the planet where I can't even understand the language and away from all my friends just because we have a blood connection,_" she snapped in reply, hackles rising defensively. Were it any other situation he probably would have found it amusing to see his daughter behaving so much like he had at her age, bristling like an angry cat, but right now it merely infuriated him to have her so stubbornly refuse him when he was clearly looking out for her best interests and trying to protect her.

"_Your blood tests showed signs of dangerous anaemia and iron deficiencies,_" the hitman pointed out ruthlessly, "_Not to mention the iodine deficiency and the fact that you're vitamin deficiencies have nearly afflicted you with Scurvy and Rickets_," he continued remorselessly, it had been barely ten minutes after he had ordered Gokudera to collect his daughter that Shamal called again, sounding harried and concerned as he explained the other results he had gotten from her blood work. She needed to see a Doctor, and he needed to get a Lawyer, whomever she had been staying with was not in any way suitable, long term malnutrition was severely damaging her health. "_Malnutrition from early childhood until early teens and then off and on again since. You're lucky to be as healthy as you are._"

The curly haired woman rounded on her suddenly pale grey looking best friend, "_Is... is this _true_?_" she hissed, dropping off the couch to grab her friend's shoulders, "_Was Ron right? Look at me! What did those horrible muggles do to you?_"

Harry shook his head, eyes sliding away from his bestfriend to alight on their audience and abruptly jerked himself free, jumping to his feet and stalking out. Ignoring his father's command to return and Hermione rapidly following him, he didn't want to talk about this, what the Dursleys did to him was _none_ of their business! How dare he, how dare he stand there and wave that around as if it were some kind of sick entertainment for everyone in the room!

"_Harry, look at me, look at me,_" Hermione pleaded, grabbing his arm as they came to a stop in the front garden, she grabbed his chin and turned his face forcibly to look at her, "_Why didn't you tell me? I would have tried to help,_" she whispered, heartbroken brown eyes boring into furious green.

"_And what good would that have done?_" he snapped, jerking his face free, ignorant to Reborn stood in the hallway listening in, "_You think I haven't told people before? I was five the first time I told someone that Aunt Petunia kept hitting me, that Uncle Vernon said Freaks have to eat off the floor because they weren't good enough to sit up at the table. You know what it got me? Five hours in a police station and a week in the Cupboard after Petunia spun her fanciful tale about how I was a troublemaker, the child of a whore and a drunk who died of their own stupidity when she knew _full_ well that they were murdered the night before I got ditched on her doorstep. Dumbledore will never let me leave, every year I have asked, begged and pleaded to remain at Hogwarts rather than go back, I even offered to pay rent for all the good it did me._" He shook his head, glaring at the horror struck Gryffindor whose hand slowly fell from where it had been gripping his arm, "_Coming here was selfish, I wanted to know if I had any family that was actually worth knowing. But regardless of whether they are or not, I can't leave the Dursleys, Dumbledore will just march me straight back and conveniently make everyone here forget I ever existed. Whether they want to or not._"

"_h-he wouldn't..._" she protested weakly.

"_Just like he wouldn't put a dangerous artefact in a school full of children because he knew my mother's murderer was looking for it and then set up traps that a First Year could get through? Just like he kept the school open after the Basilisk got loose and started attacking everyone? Just like he let the Ministry steamroll over him and install the Azkaban Guards around the school, _knowing_ they would attack the students at the first chance they could? Just like he let –_ "

"_I know! Alright? I know._" Hermione sniffled, "_I just want this to work for you. After everything that's happened..._"

"_Yeah well, life isn't fair. Thought you figured that one out already_," he grunted roughly before sitting down in the porch, the other Gryffindor sitting down beside him and leaning her head on his shoulder, the two of them listening to the low, curious chatter of the Japanese teenagers in the living room, both of them oblivious to the Arcobaleno in the hallway behind them and the terrifying look on his face as he realised that his daughter was tangled up in something that wasn't going to let him keep her.

"_Have you told Ron yet?_" Hermione asked softly.

Harry snorted, "_God no. He'd freak out worse than Snape on a good hair day._"

"_Oh that's horrible!_" the brunette exclaimed with a giggle, slapping him in the chest, causing the other to wince slightly when her hand came into contact with breast instead of the bony chest they were both used to, "_Oh, sorry_."

"_Its fine_," he assured her with a small smile. "_Accurate though... I was planning on keeping it secret in all honesty. You know how everyone will react if they find out and I don't want anyone making comments about my mum being a slut. Madam Pomfrey might pull her hair out with frustration having to deal with all the Slytherins I'd send to the Hospital Wing. And so help me, if Snape says one thing then I don't care what Dumbledore says about him being a valuable Spy I'm cursing the greasy bastard._"

"_Professor Snape_," the Prefect corrected more out of habit than anything. "_Will that work though? You sleep in the boys dormitory._"

Reborn scowled, feeling uncomfortable at the thought of his daughter living in the boys dormitory, why on earth would she do that? He didn't think she was... well... loose, she seemed to have an abhorrence to people referring to her mother that way so he doubted if she would be one herself.

"_I've always gotten up earlier than everyone else and changed in the bathroom. I'll just have to be a little more careful and not fall into Madam Pomfrey's well meaning grasp. Still, I would have liked to stay here, Japan's nice and Tsuna's friends seem like my kind of crazy._"

The Arcobaleno smiled at that, unable to help the small glow of pride he felt over both his student and his daughter.

"_Thinking of coming back after the Voldemort thing blows over?_" Hermione asked.

Harry was silent, the Prophesy weighing heavily on his mind as he stared up at the sky, he doubted he would survive the War in all honesty, especially now that Voldemort had come out into the open and started making very real moves into the Ministry of Magic, it would only be a matter of time until he took over, given how spineless Fudge was and how highly the dottering moron had allowed Lucius Malfoy and his cronies to climb. "_Probably not, I would like to, but you know that everyone's expecting me to settle down and have a million and one little ginger babies with Ginny._"

"_How's that going to work if you're both girls?_" the brunette asked flatly, eyebrow moving up into her hairline.

"_No one ever said society made sense in any way. They still don't know I'm a girl. If Ron weren't so besotted with you, I'd be worried that Molly would start trying to hook us up instead_," Ariah admitted, wrinkling her nose at the thought of being married to this Ron person that Reborn was quite certain he wouldn't have approved of in the slightest.

"_As long as it isn't Malfoy I don't think I would care who you ended up with._"

"_Like hell I'd marry the ferret,_" his daughter exclaimed in disgust, sticking her tongue out as if tasting something rancid. The two girls sat in silence for a while longer before Ariah sighed softly in defeat, "_I should go and apologise, it was rather rude just storming out like that._"

Hermione nodded, "_It was, but he shouldn't have paraded something that personal in front of a room full of strangers like it were some kind of soap-opera entertainment_," she pointed out disapprovingly and for a split second Reborn winced internally as he realised that just because he was familiar with and trusted Tsuna and all of his Family, his daughter didn't know them, trust them or even like them, they were just people. People who now knew some of her deepest darkest secrets, ones that she hadn't even shared with her bestfriend and was now being forced to face. In all honesty, she was showing remarkable restraint, he would have shot someone by now, preferably the one who was blurting out all of his secrets.

He knocked on the doorframe politely, making the two girls jolt and turn around, both reaching for weapons they weren't carrying out of sheer reflex, making his eyes narrow in concern slightly under the brim of his hat.

"_May I have a word with Ariah, alone?_" he asked, looking up at the curly haired woman who cast a wary glance to her friend, the dark haired female nodding and ushering the still concerned woman off. When they were alone, he moved forward and sat down beside his daughter on the doorstep, glancing up at her speculatively again, she was so different from anything he had expected. She acted like a mixture of Tsuna, Gokudera and Dino and a hell of a lot like him at her age. She didn't behave like a girl at all and seemed to bristle subconsciously at the subtle deferrence people gave her because of her gender. If what he had overheard was correct, she had gone her whole life posing as a boy and being treated accordingly, and being abused as well, someone at her school was coordinating with her legal guardians to continue that as well. Argh, his blood was beginning to boil again.

"_Where do you want to go from here?_" he asked the girl, she had obviously been independent for so long that having her choices taken away from her without good reason was like trying to bridle a wild horse. Not possible without breaking her spirit in the process.

She looked down at him and rubbed at the back of her neck, "_I would like to stay until Mid-August, get to know you and everyone else. They're obviously close to you. But I still need to go back, get school supplies and attend... We could write... Hedwig can find anyone anywhere on the planet,_" she explained brightly, smiling proudly.

Reborn coudn't help but smile slightly in response, "_Hedwig?_"

She nodded, "_My owl. Hagrid, the groundskeeper at school, got her for my eleventh birthday. He was friends with my parents when they were at school and he doubted my Aunt would have splashed out on Birthday presents. She's a Trained Courier and the smartest bird ever_," she boasted grinning as she pointed up to a white shape sat on a telegraph pole not too far away, "_She always knows when I'm talking about her._"

The Arcobaleno looked up at the bird and smiled slightly, for a moment he had been concerned that it was Mukuro – as Chrome was absent from the gathering, he was actually surprised that Hibari had bothered to show up but guessed that it was general curiosity and the desire for a fight. Usually when he called on the elusive Cloud Guardian there was a half decent fight in it for him. "_She's quite beautiful_," he admitted as the large white bird of prey flew down and landed on his daughter's knee with a solemn hoot, nibbling on the girl's finger in greeting as she stroked the creature's breast.

"_She is. That Chameleon though, I didn't think there were any of his species left,_" she admitted, looking closely at Leon, "_Form Transformation is pretty rare these days. I've seen a person who could do it once but the only creature I know who can do it is a Boggart and they prefer scary things. Not cute reptiles._"

"_Leon is my partner, he came to me when I became like this,_" Reborn explained, gesturing down at himself.

He was rather surprised when he felt a soft touch on his cheek, he fought not to tense up as he felt his daughter run her fingers down his face, this was the first time they had actually touched, "_Are you happy like that?_" she asked, what a question! No one had ever asked him that before, it was mostly hows, whys, whens and whether or not there was a cure.

"_I am... content,_" he admitted, not happy but willing to deal with it.

She hummed and withdrew her hand, his skin felt strangely cold without it, "_I can feel something strange under your skin,_" she admitted quietly, making him still somewhat, it had been documented with Luce, Aria and Yuni, the Sky Arcobaleno, that their abilities were sometimes passed down genetically, his blood chilled at the thought of his daughter inheriting his gift or his place should he fall.

Swallowing tightly, he caught her hand in both of his tiny ones, suddenly filled with an irrational dread.

_**000**_

**Alrighty, housekeeping first of all.**

**Hermione and Italian, yes, I had her know Italian. Is it really such a stretch? We know she and her parents went on holiday to various places around Europe, she reminds me a lot of my friend so if she got it into her head to learn a few phrases of the country she was going to visit then I think she would learn a little more to make sure she didn't run into any problems. **

**Harry and Reborn's argument. Don't go thinking this is all resolved, these two are far too much alike in some respects and entirely too different in others **_not_** to butt heads over various things. This was just resolved by Harry's natural dislike of large crowds and how he doesn't like being on display – thus he ended the argument by leaving. Before Accidental Magic did something they would all regret.**

**Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, Reborn has a better idea of where Harry's standing now because Gryffindors have no concept of spatial awareness unless it involves spellfire. XDDD Don't worry, he hasn't given up the fight, his nefarious little brain is already coming up with various evil little plans.**


	4. Chapter 4

**WINTERTIDE**

_**000**_

**CHAPTER FOUR**

Harry didn't know what was happening, it seemed as though there was some kind of '_moment_' happening between himself and his father, the little infant-sized Italian was gripping his hand tightly as if frightened that he would slip away, a rather unsettling look on his face. A mix of anxiousness, worry and something hard and sharp, something dangerous. They remained like that for quite a while, lost in thought as they considered the skeletons in their closets and how to best protect each other from them.

In all honesty, Harry was surprised his father hadn't recognised him, perhaps the whole '_Boy Who Lived_' thing wasn't as big in other countries? True the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students seemed to hold it in the same regard as everyone from Hogwarts but he was chalking that up to the close relationship the schools had with each other – after all, the only Celebrities attending out of the three were Viktor and himself. Still, this was better than he had feared. He had agonised, silently, out of Hermione's view, about whether or not his father had Magic, if he would be supportive or if he would be like the Dursleys, frightened and hurtful. The whole reason he tracked his father down the '_Normal_' way was because of that fear, they found his address online, cross checked it with Italian Address books before flying out there, her parents driving them along as a kind of holiday away from the practice for a week. Iemitsu had been waiting for them at his father's house, or rather, he had been trying to break in without much success and pouting at the door until Harry planted a foot into the side of his skull and demanded to know what the hell he thought he was doing.

Fifteen minutes later and a lot of rather hurried explanations from the Japanese man to prevent the Gryffindor from calling the Police to have him hauled away, Harry learned that Iemitsu was actually a colleague of his father's and was trying to sneak in to well, rig a prank for when he got home from Japan. Harry hadn't been impressed. Upon hearing about the whole father-issue, the man had hummed thoughtfully and promptly stole his glasses to get a better look at his face, ripping a few strands of hair out as he did so much to Harry's annoyance, ignoring the dark scowl on the teenager's face – unknowingly making himself look more and more like his father on a bad day, Iemitsu had tried very hard not to laugh. After returning his glasses the man wrote an address and a slip of paper before ushering him off and explaining that Renato's nickname was Reborn, he didn't really use his first name and very, _very_ few people even knew of it, he was in Japan grooming Iemitsu's son to take over as head of the company when he was old enough.

Meeting Reborn was... he had been so angry and humiliated when he saw the baby, believing that Iemitsu had sent him on a wild goose chase, that he had allowed himself to get strung along so easily but... this person was his father. All one foot of him. He had somehow been deaged to an infant, but he had retained all of his mental capabilities and physical prowess, not to mention he had kept his magical capacity, it felt like he was hiding the sun under his skin. And if his Familiar was a Shapeshifter then he had to have quite the well of magical power, after all, Fawkes was Dumbledore's Familiar and he was the only person Harry knew of with a Magical Familiar.

Harry stared down at his tiny father, he supposed most would find it quite disheartening or perhaps even funny or charming that he had a pocket-sized parent but Renato had told him that he was... _content_ as he was, the words of someone who was resigned to his fate, someone who no longer bothered with something they couldn't change and so focused on everything else that needed doing. No one would think that the infant was his father, a younger brother maybe but not his father, but he was still in danger, a lot of danger, especially with the Death Eaters and they had already proven that being an infant wasn't going to stop them. Maybe he really should look into reversing whatever curse or spell his father was under, see about returning him to his natural age of just inducing him to become older. Would Ageing Potions, like the Weasley Twins used to try and get their names in the Goblet of Fire, work? He would have to ask Hermione. He would feel a lot better if his father was capable of becoming an adult, because he got the distinct impression the man was ten times more dangerous when he was looking down instead of up at everything.

Reborn however was trying to swallow the rising terror bubbling in his stomach at the thought of Ariah becoming like him, becoming an Arcobaleno of the Sun. Out of all the Arcobaleno, becoming the Sun wouldn't be too bad compared to becoming Mist or Sky, their Flame was perfectly capable of healing any damage they received or boosting their physical abilities to better protect herself and dodge whatever gets thrown at her. But still, he tightened his grip slightly only to quickly release her hand when he realised he was holding it so tightly she was beginning to bruise. He was going to make _certain_ that his mantle wasn't going to pass to her, the only way to do that was to stay alive or... break the curse.

"_We should go back inside,_" he suggested, tugging his hat down a little more firmly on his head, looking up at her, wondering just when and how he was getting attached so quickly. It had only been two days, not even twenty four hours, and yet... he felt responsible for her, protective and _possessive_ of all things, he had never had a child before and he had already missed so much of her life that it felt almost painful to realised that because he hadn't been there, hadn't known, hadn't been _careful_, that she had been hurt and abused.

Ariah nodded and got to her feet in a surprisingly graceful movement and paused, realising he was still looking at her, she was clearly uncomfortable with the scrutiny and he looked away, not wanting to upset her so soon after they butted heads barely five-ten minutes ago.

Harry however, was having an internal battle, it wasn't intense enough to be called a war but it was still a conflict. For a moment, his father had looked at him with such a strange expression of longing that he couldn't stop his muscles from freezing or his stomach turning over. The battle was over whether or not to ignore the look or to pick his father up and carry him.

The rub here was... Harry didn't like to touch others, and he didn't trust his pint-sized parent.

The Dursleys had been family, blood family, and they had hated him and treated him like crap, there was very little in the way of physical abuse, they didn't want to get Freak on them, touching him was considered like touching a dead animal found in the gutter. But on occasion, a smack, hard enough to leave bruises, would be delivered for various transgressions, imagined or real, that a simple stint in the cupboard wouldn't '_adequately_' punish. Mental abuse was a little worse but still not as bad as it could have been, unlike with Dudley, Harry learned manners and how to be polite and how to treat others with respect and humility – by doing the opposite of what they did. But the constant reinforcement of '_worthlessness_' and '_stupidity_' and '_freakishness_' had done nothing for his self-esteem or sense of self, now that he was older he understood that the behaviour of his relatives made him eager to please and starved of affection, a lot more easy to manipulate which explained how, until now, he had never seriously contemplated Dumbledore's actions and behaviours. He trusted the old man and wanted to make him proud.

The emotional abuse and neglect was worse.

He didn't trust easily, authority figures were useless, he was too independent for his own good, he knew that now, he'd spoken at length with Mrs Granger about his problems when Hermione had gone to sleep and he had woken up from nightmares and run into the woman downstairs in the kitchen. The Dursleys had messed him up a lot in the head and the heart, he could have been just like Tom Riddle if he didn't have the knowledge of what love was, he spent a year with his mother and father before being thrown in such a cold and cruel environment, he knew what love was and he knew that he had been loved, that he could be loved.

Harry took a breath and made the first move. Miracles didn't just happen, you had to make them happen. And nothing short of a miracle was going to help him recover from the mental and emotional abuse the Dursleys inflicted upon him. He had to at least try to make a family with his father. He had to _try_.

Reborn twitched, tensing, but thankfully not lashing out as a pair of delicate hands swept under his armpits and cradled his chest, gently lifting him up off the ground. Twisting to look at his daughter, he found a small smile curling on his mouth as she perched him on her shoulder, Hedwig watching him from her other shoulder with intelligent amber eyes, he _had_ noticed that Ariah tried to avoid physical contact with everyone save for her friend Hermione yet still twitched when touched unexpectedly.

"Reborn, is everything okay?" Tsuna asked as the pair reappeared, his honey brown eyes wide with concern as he looked between the tiny hitman and the young woman.

"Yes, it was my fault," the Arcobaleno admitted as the trio entered into the living room, Gokudera and Yamamoto speaking quietly with Ryohei, the girls clustering around Hermione with I-pin and Lambo in arm, Hibari stood in the doorway to the garden with a surly expression on his face, Hibird perched on his shoulder.

"Is this why you called us here?" the surly Cloud Guardian demanded in a menacing purr, Reborn frowned slightly at his tone from under his hat, taking note of the way Ariah tensed slightly and shifted her balance as if preparing to move at the first perceived threat. Worryingly, she was leaning forward, offensively, rather than backward, defensively.

"Indeed," Reborn told the Guardian, "Given that she is my daughter, there is every chance she may inherit my abilities and my Curse in the event of my untimely demise, much like Yuni-chan from the Future," he explained gravely, "In the event of that, she will need your help and protection." He didn't mention his suspicions about the mysterious force keeping her in grim conditions for whatever reason, or her decision to return to those horrible conditions in order to protect them. He was on thin ice already.

Gokudera looked at her, "Does she know?" he asked quietly, he was a little more aware of the Acrobaleno Curse than others in the room, being elbow deep in the Mafia for the majority of his life offered him more information than the others. But still, not much was known about the Acrobaleno, the Miracle babies, just that they were once adults before appearing on the scene three years ago, ridiculously powerful with Dying Will Flames that could be excluded from every inch of their body, not concentrated on the Point of Origin, their Third Eye.

Reborn shook his head, "No, she is unaware of the Vongola, Dying Will Flames and the Arcobaleno. But she knows something else, something very similar but unrelated. She is familiar with creatures like Leon, even people capable of changing form much like he does, other animals that do the same though favouring more '_frightening_' forms." He looked over at the Owl with the curiously intelligent eyes, "Her partner, Hedwig, is unnaturally intelligent and capable of finding people the world over. The Ninth has a collection of Messenger Hawks with similar abilities, these Hawks are... rare, impossible to procure by anyone apart from _one_ man within his Guardians. Even torture will not pull that secret from his lips."

Haru and Kyoko exchanged glances, "Reborn-chan," Haru ventured hesitantly, catching everyone's attention, "Ariah-chan's homelife... isn't very good, is it?" she asked lowly, she nodded as if expecting confirmation when the hitman answered the negative, "She's going back." Not a question, Haru knew.

Reborn nodded again, how on earth ditzy airhead Haru knew that he couldn't figure out but decided to chalk it up to women's intuition, they always seemed to know things about each other with just the smallest of cues.

Haru and Kyoko exchanged glances before the honey-brown haired girl stepped forward, "Could you teach her to defend herself?" Kyoko asked, a rare glint of determination in her eyes that took everyone back a bit, "I don't like fighting, but that's because I don't like seeing people get hurt," she explained looking flustered and upset, "But they're hurting her and they shouldn't! You can teach her how to protect herself, right?"

"People shouldn't hit girls, its cowardly," Haru growled unhappily.

Harry looked over at Hermione who shrugged helplessly, neither of them understanding the conversation taking place around them as Harry gently lowered his father onto the sofa, Hedwig crab walking her way along Harry's arm to his wrist as he bent over to keep her balance. The room was fairly noisy with everyone talking at once, I-pin and Lambo were jumping up and down on the table wailing their arms and squeaking in Japanese, Gokudera and Yamamoto were arguing with Gokudera tearing his attention between the Baseball Idiot and Turf Head (Ryohei), Bianchi was pondering the idea of passing on her Poison Cooking skills to her '_daughter_' much to Tsuna's horror as he desperately tried to talk her out of it. And while they went insane...

Harry twitched, ducking and whipping around as something fast and deadly swept past his head making Hedwig launch into the air with a startled shriek, he jumped backwards, eyes widening at the sight of the surly guy from earlier glaring at him with a Police Baton in hand. He knew there was a proper name for them but he couldn't for the life of him remember it – just that they had been outlawed not too long ago due to Police Brutality issues and a rather messy Manslaughter issue.

Tsuna squawked in horror as everyone else started yelling, Hibari lashing out with Tonfas doing his level best to try and take the girl's head off, Ariah was doing... remarkably well actually, Reborn would have shot Hibari in both kneecaps without a single iota of remorse had he actually succeeded in harming his daughter but... she was _fast_. She _didn't_ get caught.

Hibari abruptly stopped and jerked backwards as, with a righteous screech, Hedwig went for his face, amber eyes burning with fury, the look of horror on the girl's face when she saw him raise his weapon to strike at her Owl, she lashed out, launching a foot forward and ramming it into the Prefect's stomach, pitching him backwards away from Hedwig whom was snatched out of the air. Ariah glared warily at the dark haired teenager, Hedwig in her arms, the Owl barking furiously at the Japanese teenager, fluffing herself up to three times her size.

Hibari looked over at Reborn, "She doesn't need training," he told the Arcobaleno flatly before glaring at the other teenagers, "Shut up," he ordered, the '_Or Else_' needn't have been said as he turned around and walked away out of the house, Hibird fluttering and landing on his shoulder as he stowed the Tonfas away.

Gokudera was possibly the only one who noticed Hermione stow what looked to be a wooden stake back into her skirt pocket as she hurried over to her bestfriend and the still barking Owl.

"That..." Bianchi muttered, looking down at Reborn, "Could have gone better."

_**000**_

After the rather explosive meeting, it was decided that everyone would just hang out for the day, Kyoko, Haru and Bianchi banded together and declared a shopping trip, a girls' day in which they would help Ariah with her wardrobe and her hair and such. Reborn thoroughly approved of this plan and joined them, commanding the boys to come along as well to carry the bags with a firm look that made all masculine protests of female powershopping and embarrassment wither on their tongues before they could be aired.

Hermione and Harry just looked confused as the language barrier presented itself again. It was only upon explanation that they then had the task of trying to stop Ariah from escaping out of the windows or climbing the walls or just generally attempting to flee from them.

It got to the point where Reborn simply handcuffed her to Gokudera and gave the silver haired teenager stern orders not to let her escape. Which ten minutes later he almost did after she picked the lock and tried to run off again – only being prevented by Ryohei catching her around the waist as she turned and tried to slip between him and Yamamoto. Reborn was actually rather impressed, she was good at picking locks, skilled enough to dodge Hibari, had a bird like Hedwig (currently perched on Hermione's shoulder) and swore badly enough to make even the saltiest of hitmen blush in embarrassment.

A little emotional blackmail from her friend, the Hermione girl nearly looking as though she were about to turn on the waterworks, at which point Reborn was quite certain his daughter was on the verge of selling her liver on the blackmarket to make her friend not cry. It was quite amusing and quite cute at the same time.

She didn't try to run away after that and silently submitted herself to the horrors of a girl's shopping spree, Reborn probably would have found it more amusing that she spent the majority of her time with the same expression on her face as the boys if he didn't find her reluctance to shop worrying. Had she never gone shopping for herself? Hermione admitted that apart from school supplies and uniforms, no, no Ariah had never gone shopping for anything herself, the mother of their friend usually did that for her because circumstances meant that she wasn't allowed to leave the house much during summer and they attended a Boarding School in remote Scotland.

When the boys cried for mercy and everyone decided to pull up at one of the small open-air cafés in the shopping district, Reborn watched as Kyoko-chan and Haru-chan dug through the bags of clothing and accessories, debating over this and that, before shoving a bundle at the confused looking Wizard-turned-witch and ordering her to go and get changed in the toilets. Her face promptly tomatoed and she looked desperately at her friend, Hermione winced slightly but gestured her onwards with a pitying look, Reborn had to suppress a chuckle, true, public rest-rooms in England were _god-awful_, Japan however cared a lot more about customer satisfaction and keeping everything clean and sleek and modern. She was going to be quite surprised when she walked in expecting the place to smell of urine and stale sex.

He turned his attention to the other British girl, "_Miss Granger, would you do me a favour?_" he asked, catching the young woman's attention, there was something about her that reminded Reborn rather strongly of Gokudera, perhaps it was her intelligence, her determination to protect Ariah or the way she wasn't willing to leave the other girl to explore a foreign country on her own but either way, Reborn knew he had an ally in her as long as it was for Ariah's benefit.

Brown eyes bored into him, "_It depends on what that favour is, Mr Serafino,_" she answered politely, sounding the ever dutiful school girl she probably was. Considering the English school system, Reborn wouldn't have been surprised if she was actually a Prefect, she was certainly prim and proper enough to endear herself to her teachers.

"_Ariah's birthname,_" he said, he couldn't very well just up and request she tell him the name and addresses of her current guardians, "_Or rather, the name her adoptive father gave her. Considering how all evidence points to her discovering me and her other birth certificate recently, her medical records will be under her other name. I would like to have them forwarded onto a Doctor I trust, if the abuse her relatives have put her under has thus far gone unnoticed then I have severe doubts regarding the observational and professional skill of her doctors. Not to mention their integrity._" There, that was a believable excuse, if he had access to her medical records that would detail not only her medical history but also her mother's name and her father's name, the name of her guardians and her current address along with several previous addresses.

For a moment, he thought the curly haired girl was going to refuse him judging by the way her eyes narrowed and she seemingly searched his face for any deceit. After a moment, she sighed and rummaged into her purse, withdrawing a scrap of paper and a fountain pen, she scribbled a little bit onto it before handing it over. "_Her full name and her address, it should help you narrow down who you need to talk to,_" the girl explained, sliding it over the table with an odd look on her face that made Reborn hesitate a split second before he took the paper.

Hermione Granger was a very smart young woman, she knew Reborn wasn't asking for Harry's name to get hold of his medical records, he was asking so he could get hold of his address. The address where the Dursleys lived. And she knew that by handing over the piece of paper she was betraying the small piece of Harry's trust that he gave her out on the porch by telling her outright how Dumbledore would never let him leave the Dursleys because of the blood wards, and there was nothing anyone could do to protect him from _them_. And Reborn came to understand that in the split second when black met brown and Hermione's fingers finally lifted from the piece of paper, allowing the Arcobaleno to pull it over to himself with a contemplative solemnity.

_Harry James Potter_

_Guardians: Petunia and Vernon Dursley_

_Parents: Lily and James Potter _

_4 Privet Drive_

_Little Whinging_

_Surrey_

_KT22 0LQ_

This... was more than enough, an address, two names and now, Reborn actually had the name of his child's mother, a faceless woman he had enjoyed an evening with some sixteen years ago and forgotten far more quickly. The fact that the woman had born him a child only made that callous disregard, that forgetfulness of even her name, never mind her face which he still couldn't remember, seemed even more heartless and shameful. Well, he would do the right thing now, he would take responsibility and he would protect his daughter by removing what was threatening her – her Aunt and Uncle.

Kyoko and Haru suddenly started squealing in delight, causing everyone at the table to look up as a scarlet faced Ariah returned to their table, looking as though she would have liked to have been eaten by the floor as she twisted one of the bracelets around her wrist harshly. Kyoko and Haru had chosen to put her in a pair of skinny-jeans with numerous zips and belt-loops with chains clipped onto it, a white vest stop worn sewn in under a baggy short sleeved purple top with slashes of darker purple and silver across it, they'd thrown on a great deal of accessories, the majority of which Ariah was carrying in her hands rather than wearing, a pair of arm-guards, a charm bracelet with what looked like a book, a broomstick and a dragon on it, and a long rather old fashioned necklace hanging to just below her breasts. She looked highly uncomfortable and embarrassed, Reborn was assuming that was the attention from everyone while Hermione, correctly, assumed it was the bra.

"_I feel ridiculous,_" Harry muttered as he sat down, hands protecting his hair from Haru's enthusiastic preening, at least until Hedwig fluttered onto his shoulder and glared at the girl to back down, when she did, the owl took her place, tugging at strands of dark hair and arranging them just so. Harry didn't seem to mind the owl's attention, he was used to it as he moodily sipped his drink.

Hermione chuckled, "_Well, at least you're not wearing my clothes anymore,_" she pointed out with a grin, watching as he tried to stay moody but couldn't stop himself from cracking a smile anyway.

He stretched languidly, for once not being overly aware of the strange squishy and floppy weight on his chest, he supposed bras were alright, the bra fitting was so humiliating that he didn't think he would ever be able to get used to it – he was still half convinced he could reapply the whole '_guy_' Transfiguration or whatever the hell it was his mother did to him. So he supposed he could deal with bras and crap until then, panties were a lot more comfortable than boxers in this form, no wedgies front or back.

Whenever the girls picked something out for Harry he would always freak out about the price, the day had been long and tiring for everyone, especially for Reborn who had to keep arguing with his daughter about footing the bill for the shopping expedition. Her sensibilities and independence was going to get old and annoying and really damn fast if they had to go through this almost every time he tried to treat her. And because he knew exactly where this was coming from, the Arcobaleno watched, waiting for Shamal to answer his phone call as Tsuna and the other Guardians tottered back to the house laden down with bags from the stores and now Hermione and Ariah's luggage from the hotel – the two girls having been point blank shot down when they tried to carry their own bags, Ryohei and Takeshi plucking them clean from the girls' arms.

"_**Reborn, you're calling me again, what's going on?**_" the Tridant asked warily, a note of concern in his voice.

"**I have the names and address of Ariah's guardians. I want you to go and deal with them,**" he told his fellow hitman in a glacier tone, "**Make it look like natural causes.**"

"_**Got it. Where am I going and who's gunna regret getting up in the morning?**_"

"**Petunia and Vernon Dursley of number four Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey. Its just south of London. And Shamal... make it slow and make it ****painful****,**" the miniature hitman demanded, there was a moment of silence on the other end, no doubt as the usually slovenly and alcoholic Doctor wrote the address, the hit and the particulars.

"_**It'll be done within the week. This one's on the house, Reborn. Just make sure you get custody before someone else does,**_" the Womanizer capitulated before hanging up. Reborn sighed, this was going to be difficult, he was going to have to go through the Vongola and through Timoteo who wasn't actually yet aware of the situation – unless Iemitsu had gone and shot his mouth off.

Sighing, Reborn keyed in the number of his old friend and settled on his seat, watching as Ryohei tried to teach Ariah some boxing only for the girl to recoil, shaking her head with a rather terrified smile on her face as the overly enthusiastic teenager got in her face, roaring in excitement while Gokudera tried to pick a fight and Hermione just laughed along with Takeshi. They were good kids, his eyes lingered on his daughter and he hoped that she wasn't going to be unreasonable when the death of her relatives were discovered. He doubly hoped that she wasn't going to realise that natural causes wasn't quite so natural.

Shamal was good, if Reborn requested it look natural, he would dig into the Dursleys' medical History and then find something that would match what details he found and could be easily attributed to that cause. Open and shut, nothing what could be done, unfortunate but look at the records, seems to have been unavoidable.

The phone clicked and Reborn smiled as he heard his friend answer.

_**000**_

**Yes, I know, the Post Code I used for Privet Drive is actually for Leatherhead and not Surrey. Its in the Surrey area though! Don't hurt me! There is no Privet Drive and there is no Little Whinging, both are fictional so don't get on my tits about incorrect Post Coding!**

**Also, Reborn did just issue a hit on the Dursleys. He said he was going to protect Ariah, and by-jove he's going to!**

**Hope you've enjoyed the ride so far. There's more to come. Just be patient, I've got a lot of stories, and suddenly my social life has gone BOOM-HI. I know, how dare I not spend my life on my laptop? Well, here is a very good answer:**

**Eat me. XP**

**;D love you really. **


	5. Chapter 5

**WINTERTIDE**

_**000**_

**CHAPTER FIVE**

"I'm surprised," Hermione whispered, staring up at the ceiling of the Sawada living room, the soft breathing of her bestfriend the only other sound in the small room, the other Gryffindor made a faint grunt of curiosity, too close to sleep to bother with being vocal, she had to smile. Harry hated shopping, the day had been rather trying for him as he tried to wrestle away all the girlish things that Kyoko and Haru picked up, not to mention the things that Reborn and Bianchi found on his behalf, then the issue of paying and carrying the bags appearing. For someone raised to be so independent it was like a slap to the face, a '_you can't take care of yourself_' thing, he tried not to show it, probably succeeded, but it did make Harry bristle somewhat at the implication that he needed someone to take care of him.

"Surprised about what?" he asked softly in the dark when she took too long to respond.

"That outfit today, I didn't expect you to wear _any_ of the accessories or even feel half as comfortable as you looked," she admitted, shifting on the sofa. Harry had pretty much shoved her into it before taking the futon on the floor as he figured the sofa would be more comfortable, she had to chuckle a little at the apparent chivalry. Really, both he and Ron were so...

"Ah, that," Harry muttered, sounding a little embarrassed, "I listened in on one of Lavender and Pavarti's girl-talks, see if I could figure out what girls like so I could..." he trailed off, the embarrassment stilling his vocal cords and Hermione giggled a little in realisation, he wanted to impress Cho Chang, or at least figure out how to win her over.

"I wonder... would that make you a lesbian or straight?" she pondered out loud, listening as Harry choked and rolled over, forced to muffle his laughter in his pillow, grinning wildly before having to do the same as giggles threatened to over come her.

"B-bi actually, still," the other Gryffindor admitted, mirth dancing in his voice.

"Still?" Hermione echoed a little in surprise, her own amusement causing her voice to hiccup a little with a giggle.

"You didn't think I picked that fight with Crabb- "

"Oh god _no!_" the girl choked, bolting upright to stare at her bestfriend in horror as the other teenager rolled over and burst into a fit of laughter that the pillow did very little to muffle as he practically howled with laughter, the Prefect being too relieved at the apparent joke to get upset by it as she sighed and collapsed back in her bedding, "Don't even joke about that," she pleaded as the other teenager managed to reign himself in.

"S-sorry, b-but your r-reaction," he snorted and started chuckling again and she couldn't help herself from giggling as well. Alright, getting her to believe that _Harry_ of all people would be fancying Slytherins, let alone Troll-Brained Vincent Crabbe, was completely impossible and a bit funny when she thought about how gullible she had been to actually believe something that stupid.

"So who was it?" Hermione finally asked as they both settled down into silence for a while, staring up at the off-white ceiling in the dark gloom, "The guy who caught your attention."

There was a beat of silence and then, in a mildly horrified tone, Harry asked, "Are we having a _Girl Talk_ Hermione?"

And the girl burst into inelegant snorting laughter as she pulled the pillow over her head.

_**000**_

Tsuna didn't know what to think of Reborn's daughter, she was... he couldn't really describe her very well, she was definitely hiding something, but out of fear of rejection, confusion and a great deal of embarrassment. She... she didn't _act_ like a girl, in the slightest, he could chalk that up to the childhood abuse that Reborn insinuated, but he didn't think it was that, this was something a little different.

It was more... she had no concept of being female.

He still remembered walking into the living room one morning while she was in the middle of trying to figure out her bra, she didn't do much more than glance over her shoulder at him, say good morning and go right back to trying to figure out how to put it on, completely oblivious to the fact she was topless in front of a boy. She seemed completely _baffled_ whenever someone held a door open for her, or tried to take heavy things off her hands, or even just tried to help her, it was like such things had never happened to her and she didn't know what to do when they did. Her relationship with Hermione-san seemed to be strange as well, the two were clearly very close, Hermione seemed to protect her from things she didn't understand, such as the incident at the open-air café when she handed over the names and addresses of Ariah-chan's family with such a hard look in her eyes, like she knew exactly what Reborn was going to do with them, she fended off Bianchi when she tried to declare bath-time. And yet, Ariah was protective of her in a more obvious, physical, fashion. Tsuna hadn't noticed until Gokudera pointed it out while she was in the changing room but when Hibari lashed out at her, she circled him and put herself between him and the girls. Also the couch thing, Hermione had attempted to swap with her friend more than once but Ariah would decisively sit herself on the futon and glower until the other girl took the sofa.

If anything, Tsuna could definitely say that the only feminine things that Ariah-chan didn't seem to put any concentrated effort into was cooking and the way she moved, her cooking was good, she had a light touch in the kitchen as they all found out when they came downstairs and found her helping Okaachan in the kitchen while Hermione-san read a book at the table, a very heavy book that had strange symbols in it that not even Reborn could read if the perturbed frown on his face was anything to go by. But the way she moved though, he blushed slightly and stared at his maths textbook, listening with half an ear as Takimoto-sensei droned on about algebra. Perfectly balanced and graceful, she didn't move like anyone else he knew, like the fighters but more like a dancer, unconscious grace and flowing, light movements, almost the same as Kyoko-chan but much more... pronounced.

"Sawada!" Takimoto-sensei barked, throwing a stick of chalk at his head, making the brunet squawk in pain and alarm, reflexively attempting to hide under his text book a second after the chalk bounced off his head. "Stop daydreaming in class, if you think you're good enough to – "

All thoughts of Ariah-chan and Hermione-san and Kyoko-chan were affectively dismissed from his mind under the haranguing from the Sensei.

_**000**_

Shamal winced and squirmed in place, observing the Dursley residence with no small amount of disgust and discomfort as he did so. Earlier, when the wife had stepped out for shopping, the husband at work, he had broken in and installed listening devices and the occasional camera here and there in _very_ discrete locations, what he learned was... difficult.

The Dursleys had a son, an '_innocent_' so to speak in Hit-terms, someone not included in the strike. He doubted Reborn even knew of the boy, Ariah-chan seemed to be the type to keep her mouth sealed on anything that wasn't directly asked of her, and then she would probably lie about it – badly because the little darling was just too sweet and practically wore her heart on her sleep, she couldn't tell a decent bare-faced lie to save her life. He would have to do some research on the boy before he decided whether or not to include him in the hit, witnesses to the _completely natural death of his parents no really it was totally natural could happen to anyone __**honest**_ was always good, however, he knew Reborn, he knew his sense of justice and the nasty vindictive and _sadistic_ streak the tiny Hitman had splashed over ten miles wide in his personality. If the thug-like teenager had _anything_ to do with Ariah-chan's mistreatment, then he would have the boy included in the hit, just as slow and painful as his parents.

He sighed and scrubbed a hand through his hair, this was one of the primary reasons why he drank and whored and worked as a Doctor, he didn't like doing hits but Ariah-chan... what happened to her was... unforgivable. He had only been around her for under half an hour and he could _tell_ she was a sweet girl, a good girl, and the thought of what those monsters had done to her for almost all of her life made the cold, glacial cruelty of the Hitman, Trident Shamal, surface again with all the force of a runaway train.

First things first, medical records for the whole family, they would be easy enough to get hold of. He would look up pre-existing family and personal conditions, heart murmurs, back problems, after that he would check travel histories, see if they'd been anywhere with a particularly nasty bug festering in the area. Then he would check the boy, Dudley Dursley's, school records to see what teacher observations there were regarding him and his cousin, who would be going by the name of Harry Potter.

What kind of sick bastard made his daughter parade around as a boy?

_**000**_

Reborn sighed, staring at his daughter, she was curled up in the garden, Hedwig nestled against her stomach, the two of them sleeping in the grass with Hermione sat beside them, reading a very large and heavy tome, humming gently under her breath. It was peaceful and it was idealic, Reborn couldn't help but be jealous of the curly haired young woman for being so close to his daughter though, for knowing her so well when he... he didn't know her at all. He had tried talking to her but she was so awkward and shy with the conversation, going quiet and trying to adjust the truth on more than one occasion and he knew she was aware that he caught her out on those, which was why she became quiet.

"Miss Granger," he prompted, stepping forward, if he couldn't talk to Ariah about it, perhaps he could get information from her friend, "I was wondering if we could talk, its nothing as serious as last time, I would just like to get to know Ariah but she is not comfortable talking to me just yet." The curly haired woman hummed before slipping a cloth-bookmark between the pages of her book and closing it.

She smiled at him, "Ask away, I may not tell you a few things because they're Ariah's to tell but I'll answer as best I can."

"Why does she have two birth certificates?" he asked, that had been gnawing at him for a long time, why was one male and the other female, was she a hermaphrodite? The thought made something twist in his stomach, he didn't have a problem with it no, no of course not, she was still his daughter-son-... If he were honest, he didn't think he would be able to stomach it if she were, his stomach clenched in fear at the thought of her being... being unnatural like that.

Hermione sighed, "That will take more than a little explaining. Her adoptive father was something of an... old nobility line, old blood, old money, old values. Her mother was normal, like me, regular family, modest upbringing, modern values. When she married, her mother-in-law took her aside and hammered home a few truths that no one told her about until it was too late for her to back out: The first born must always be male." Reborn frowned, feeling the queasy sensation at the thought of Ariah being... being a he-she faded, "On top of that, her husband was sterile. As far as I'm aware, the night you met her mother was the same one when they had a rather large argument and he left for England, leaving her behind. It was tradition for the mother to take care of _all_ the child's needs, so when Ariah was born, she pretended that she was born a boy. Her mother drew up two separate certificates as well, just in case," Hermione explained smiling sadly at her bestfriend, threading her fingers through his unruly chocolate black hair, "Her parents died when she was young, her Aunt and Uncle couldn't have given a damn about her gender and used her as their personal slave. Its a miracle that she's as well adjusted as she is."

The mini-Hitman didn't think he would have ever felt as gratified to call in a hit in his life, now that he had confirmation that her guardians were bastards, he felt positively vindicated.

"So she's spent her life pretending to be a boy? Surely someone noticed..." he muttered in disbelief as Hermione shook her head.

"No, no one noticed at all, even the School Nurse never knew. Ariah's been living as Harry Potter her whole life, just another boy in the crowd," she explained, "I didn't even know until recently, Ron, our other friend, still doesn't know because his freak-out be of truly monumental proportions. They have after-all shared a room for the past five years. Ariah's seen him naked," she explained with a snort of laughter.

"I've seen all of them naked, and Crabbe," the subject of conversation muttered, peering up at them with hazy sleep-filled green eyes.

Hermione shuddered, "I told you to stop joking about that," she muttered with a grimace of disgust as Ariah chuckled, she never giggled, it made Reborn smile a little in bemusement.

"Not joking, Second Year, sneaking into the Slytherin Dorms, remember Ron and I stole Crabbe and Goyle's uniforms and left them locked in the broom-cupboard in the Entrance Hall?" she asked, smirking wickedly as she stared up at them, not moving so she wouldn't jostle Hedwig who was still soundly sleeping away the afternoon sun.

Reborn arched an eyebrow, sitting in the grass, "Now this I have to hear about, why were you breaking into the other dormitories?" he asked a rare smile of good humour curling on his lips.

"There are four houses at school, Gryffindor – which is our house, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Its said that students with certain personality traits get sent to each out and it does seem to fit, Gryffindors are for the brave and reckless, Slytherin for the cunning and ambitious – though its filled with more ambition than cunning these days, Hufflepuff has everyone who is hardworking and loyal and Ravenclaw for those of quick-wit and strong mind. Gryffindor and Slytherin have a horrible rivalry, when it comes to the House Cup or even the Quidditch Cup, things between us get really nasty," Hermione explained with a reminiscing smile.

Ariah snickered, "Quidditch is a sport everyone at school is completely nuts over, I'm not sure if Italy does it though, I heard America is more into Quadpot so maybe its only England and some places in Europe who are total Broom-Heads," she muttered thoughtfully, completely losing Reborn in the conversation though he wasn't willing to show that, "Second year was when Malfoy finally made the team, poncy blond ferret," she muttered gruffly with a scowl, "Bought his way on, anyway, some students kept getting attacked and we thought it was him doing it since he's a Purist, someone who thinks people from inferior blood-lines shouldn't be allowed to attend school. Ron and I stole Crabbe and Goyle's uniforms and snuck into the Slytherin Common Room to interrogate him about it."

The Italian chuckled, "And where was Miss Granger in all of this?" he asked curiously, casting his eyes over to the blushing and embarrassed young woman.

"She got into a disagreement with Millicent Bullstrode, another Slytherin student and ended up in the Hospital Wing getting declawed," Ariah admitted mirthfully, yelping when the other girl pinched her.

"Cats," Hermione grumbled sourly, face pink.

"You love cats, why else would you have got Crookshanks?" Ariah asked, rolling her eyes somewhat.

"Crookshanks?" Reborn echoed, smiling as the green eyed girl launched into an explanation of the disturbingly intelligent and unfortunately faced ginger feline, well aware of Hermione's smile and discrete reopening of her book, leaving Reborn and his daughter to connect, chatting over crazy things that happened at her school, her friends, how she got Hedwig and from then onto favourite animals and colours and just generally chatting about anything and everything that came to mind.

Bianchi smiled from the living-room doorway and stepped away, back inside, leaving her Lover to finally know his daughter.

_**000**_

Well, Shamal sighed as he juggled his mosquito capsules, Dudley was cat-food, an unexpected addition to the Hit. School records and comments were very insightful into how the young sociopath was developing, and how he treated Ariah, isolating her, attacking her, emotionally and mentally and physically destroying her at every opportunity and blaming her for every-single one of his misdemeanour's, even if she hadn't even been in the room at the time. And how his parents would lap up every word he spouted, and how Ariah would come to school with a few suspicious bruises and scuff marks that she claimed were from accidents while she did her chores.

Six-years-old was too young to be doing the kind of chores that would cause bruising and cuts if you messed up.

Vernon's family had a history of heart-murmurs, his severe obesity was only compounding that problem, add to his poor blood pressure and Shamal had just the thing for him, a stroke, several, within the space of five hours, it would be a very painful way to go. The medical examiners would chalk it up to natural causes because of how obvious it was, no one would think anything of the mosquito bites, it was summer, there were _always_ mosquito bites.

As for Petunia, her family had a history of cancer and diabetes, but she kept herself well enough to avoid that so he had to think of other causes for her slow and painful demise. He was thinking smoke inhalation, perhaps getting both her and the son at the same time with the same method, Dudley Dursley was known for drug taking and dealing, Christ, the boy was as high as a fucking kite the first time Shamal laid eyes on him.

The boy would have been drinking, spilled a little alcohol on the bed, the floor and possibly the table top, been smoking a joint before he tripped out, set fire to the bed and the floor and the table, if Shamal replaced the battery in the smoke-detectors then Petunia would have no idea about the fire until she had inhaled too much smoke to be capable of escaping. And just as extra insurance, he had two of his little babies with a nice little bug that would leave them hazy, sleepy and unable to move for a few hours, oh it was easily neutralised, most people didn't even notice they had it because it could be ignored if you dosed up on enough caffeine. But when you were asleep?

Picking the log on the front-door, he released his babies and went about the house removing the cameras and listening devices, replacing the smoke alarm battery and then setting the scene by liberally splashing a little alcohol around Dudley's room, the boy was so out of it that he unquestioningly drank the bottle of booze that Shamal pressed against his lips and did the same with the spliff of drugs he held up as well. The boy was surprisingly pliant while off his face, that would change when he was on-fire.

There, he had enough alcohol and drugs in his system to make it look natural, waiting until he had the fire going properly, Shamal made sure the bedroom window was closed and opened the door, using the air currents to fan the flames even higher before turning to the senior Dursley's bedroom and opening the door, smirking in satisfaction when he saw them both asleep and his babies happily feasting on bare-fleshy necks, injecting those nasty, nasty little presents he made just for them.

His job done, Shamal left the house without ever having touched the Dursleys themselves, without ever having caused them physical or mental harm, without ever having used magic to hurt them, or indeed, hurt them at all. He hadn't done anything to them beyond feed Dudley some alcohol and drugs which he had enjoyed.

It was that simple fact that prevented the Blood-Wards from attacking him, he had not physically caused the Dursleys harm, but he had arranged everything to _ensure_ their deaths.

By the time the neighbours noticed the flickering orange on their ceilings, it was too late to save Vernon, Petunia or Dudley, they were already dead before the first 999 call to the Emergency Services came through. The Wards would fall that evening and Dumbledore would appear on the scene, expecting to see the Dark Mark and Death Eaters, but instead was greeted by the police, the fire-brigade and an ambulance. Horrified, he would enquire about Harry and discover him missing.

Little did Dumbledore, or Harry, know that this would just be the beginning of the massive clusterfuck that was about to take place.

_**000**_

**A bit shorter than my usual and a little more fillerish but Reborn and Ariah need to connect, the hit on the Dursleys needed to happen and I wanted to explore Shamal a little more. He's a fun character and despite his slovenly womanising ways, I do genuinely think he respects and adores them as those delicate and wonderful things in life that, as a man, he must protect, because girls are supposed to be cherished and loved in his mind. He's old fashioned like that. Same as Reborn.**

**I shall hopefully be moving forward with the plot sooner rather than later, I just want to get some solid character interaction between Hermione, Ariah and the Vongola Guardians before going into the Simon-Arc.**

**Also, pairings are still on the table, I'm kind of liking the Ron/Haru pairing right now. That leaves both Hermione and Ariah open (Charlie/Dino – DO NOT ARGUE WITH MY LOGIC!)**


	6. Chapter 6

**WINTERTIDE**

**Extra long chapter to apologise for taking so long.**

**CHAPTER SIX**

Getting privacy, never mind some quiet, was next to impossible in the Sawada Household as Harry was discovering, much to his frustration. If it wasn't his father appearing at his ankles and startling him into nearly dropping the rice-bowl if he hadn't been expecting it, it was Bianchi attempting to wrangle him into some Mother-Daughter bonding. This wouldn't have been so bad if the rosette haired assassin weren't determined to share bathing facilities with him, which was just awkward on a whole other level of '_Oh __god_' that he wasn't even going to touch with a Quidditch Goal Hoop.

What made matters worse was that it was Hermione he wanted to have a word with and she seemed to either always be engaged by Reborn or arguing/debating with Gokudera. The two of them were _scary_ smart and seemed to have deemed one another an equal on an intellectual level. This prompted a great deal of rather heated conversations about stuff, the universe and everything, conversations that Harry could _barely_ follow even when he was paying attention. Then there was Yamamoto who always seemed to be there, right _there_, easy going, smiling, eager to improve his English by chatting to her in a butchered mix of English, Engrish and Japanese. Not expecting her to understand but still gamely rambling on light heartedly, his behaviour almost too clueless to be an act.

It seemed that Tsuna was his only ally in this. The brunet having cottoned onto his increasing agitation and managed to snag a few seconds while they did the washing up and everyone else ran riot in the living room and garden after dinner. Reborn attempting to ritually sacrifice Lambo who had gotten it into his fluffy head that when he grew up he was going to marry '_Ariah-neechan_', to the ire of the Wizard's father who was very much making his disapproval of it known in the usual fashion.

The Boy-Who-Lived, or would that be Girl now? Was getting more and more used to the sight and sound of guns. And grenades.

Which was another thing to add to his increasing list of concerns because he'd started to – ...He _really_ need to talk to Hermione and find out if this was a Girl thing, a Magic thing, an Italian thing or a problem with the Potions. It was beginning to really freak him out.

Still, while Tsuna admitted there was nothing that he could actually do, that didn't mean he couldn't help him at all. As Harry found out the next day when Sasagawa Kyoko and Kurokawa Hana appeared on the doorstep to take '_Ariah-chan_' and '_Maioni-chan_' on a Girls' Day Out.

It took a fair bit of arguing, Tsuna actually put his foot down in regards to the Guardians going with them, Reborn got pulled back by Bianchi and glared down by his daughter's bestfriend – the girl had the stare of a Basilisk that morning, which only concerned the new father even further. Tsuna would have to do some fast talking and suffer some under his Tutor's diminutive hands but the look of gratitude and relief on Ariah's face when the girls left left him without regrets.

Kyoko and Hana had indeed taken them on a Girls' Day, they went shopping, ate cake at their favourite shop, had some tea and parfaits at their favourite Cosplay Cafe where Harry was introduced to the wonders (or rather, his horror) of crossdressers (THERE WAS NO WAY A BLOKE COULD LOOK THAT CUTE WITHOUT ACTUALLY BEING FEMALE! IT WAS A LIE – A TRAP, DAMNIT!). After that the two foreigners were taken to a Karaoke place, Kyoko and Hana having decided that a film wouldn't be fair as they couldn't speak or understand Japanese and they knew the Karaoke place had English songs.

This gave Harry the chance he had been waiting for all day, a moment alone with his bestfriend while Kyoko and Hana stepped out to visit the ladies room. Of course Hermione had known for a while something was wrong, but like him, had been unable to gain a private moment to question him on the problems. Worry twisted her guts, thinking perhaps something had gone wrong with the Potions or there was some kind of change in her friend's magic after spending so long as a boy and under all those enchantments. Really, it had been utterly reckless and thoughtless, not to mention inconsiderate, not to have taken her friend to St Mungos to be checked out by a professional Healer! There must be a hundred things that could be wrong with her friend, her younger sibling – not that she would ever say that particular belief out loud – and because of her self-assurance, her arrogance, could do her harm!

"_I __think...__I __think __something __went __wrong __with __the __Dispelling __Potion,_" Harry finally admitted, wringing his now familiar dainty hands. "_I've __been... __noticing __things, __things __I __shouldn't, __couldn't __before._"

Dread made her stomach twist, "_What's __happening?_" she asked, taking a breath and forcing her mind into analytical mode. Harry needed her calm and in full control of her mental capacity, not panicking and flying off the handle like a hysterical first year.

He swallowed, twisting his fingers harshly, "_I __know__ things, __things __I __shouldn__'__t, _couldn't _by __all __rights.__ I __can __recognise __all __of __Dad's __guns __by __the__ sound__ of __them __alone,__ even__ what__ direction__ and__ height __he's__ firing __at.__ I__ know __that __Dad's __a__ killer, __an __assassin __maybe.__ I__ know __that__ Tsuna__ fights __hand __to __hand __and __is __probably __a __pyromaniac __or __at __least __a __Pyrokinetic...__... __I __know__ that __Yamamoto __uses __a__ sword, __that __he __can __kill, __I__ know __that... __I__ know __that __if __I __were __to __fight __any__ of __them... __I __could __win..._" Harry listed, his voice gradually becoming quieter as he stared down at the knees of his jeans, "_I __know __that... __I __can __use __Wandless __Magic. __I __haven__'__t __yet, __I __don__'__t __want __to__ get __into __trouble __with __the __Japanese __Ministry __but __I _know _I __can__ use __it. __I __can __use __that __strange __energy __that __Dad __has __locked __away __under __his __skin... __I __just _know_ things!__ That__ guy__ three __rooms __down__ with __the __tattoo __on __his __wrist __likes __the __look __of__ you__ and __not __in __a__ good __way, __I __know __he's __got __a__ gun __and __his __two __buddies __have __knives __and__ one __has __a __Taser. __I __just... _I just know_.__ Is __this __part __of__ the __Potion?__ Is __it __a __girl __thing__ – __women's __intuition?__ Is __it __some __magical __ability __that __I __don't __know__ about?_" he asked, beginning to get frantic.

All the while never noticing as Hermione relaxed in relief, it was nothing bad or awful like her brain was conjuring up.

"_Harry,__ Harry! __Calm __down, __yes, __it __is __the __Potion. __It _is _the __Awakening__ Potion; __it__ did __work __for __just __over __half __an __hour __before __you __started__ having __seizures. __Chances __are __a__ lot __of __your __abilities __had __been __brought __forward __before __we __had __to __purge __your __system,_" she explained soothingly. "_We __assumed __that __you __would __increase __your __combat__ abilities, __Wandless __Magic __was __kind__ of __expected__ as __well. __Increasing __your __observational __skills __can__ only __help __so__ calm __down, __it__'__s __a__ good__ thing_."

Harry pursed his lips and slumped back against his seat, "_You __sure? __I __mean... __I __know__ these __things. __I __can __feel __them__ in__ my __bones.__ If __I __wanted__ to __I__ could__ flip __and__ cart wheel __around__ the __room, __run __across __the __walls..._" He trailed off, seeming to realise he was being a little ridiculous.

Hermione however, understood. This was new, different, that usually ended up in _very__bad__things_ for Harry, he wanted to know if his instincts – this strange _knowing_ he had – was safe to trust. He wasn't sure of his limitations anymore and that, more than anything, was getting him all worked up.

"_We__ can __always __ask __your __father __if __we__ could __go __out __and __do __a__ bit __of __training, __Japan __is__ famous __for __its __nature __parks. __You __can __test __your __limits__ out __there __far __from__ sight_," she suggested brightly, making Harry grimace a little. He knew the miniature Assassin wasn't going to let them go without an escort, and that meant possibly breaking the Secrecy Laws, the energy that Tsuna and the others harboured was different to Magic. A similar kidney, but fundamentally different he hadn't been able to tell until he spent so much time crammed into that tiny house with them but now that he had, it was hard to ignore just how different it really was. Harry didn't want to get into trouble with the Japanese; it was why he hadn't given Wandless Magic a go, he wasn't sure if it could be traced like Wanded Magic. He didn't even know what Japan's Laws were regarding it.

"_We __can __ask_," he echoed, but his tone was clearly doubtful.

_**000**_

For Reborn, Ariah's request was... pushing the limits of his patience, it was clear she was hiding something, something big that she wasn't willing to share with either him or the others. It was entirely irrational, he knew that, but that didn't change the fact that he was becoming increasingly frustrated with her refusal to be honest to him. There was also the custody issues he was having troubles with back in England, since '_Harry_' had not officially been adopted by the Dursleys', technically she had been kidnapped for the last fifteen years since the death of her mother and adoptive father.

This was causing a great deal of difficulties, thankfully though the only other possible guardian available through familial connections, one Marjorie Dursley, elder sister of Vernon Dursley, was uninterested in taking guardianship of her niece. Preferring to bad mouth her and hold her responsible for the deaths of her family despite her not even being in the Country.

Ariah still didn't know.

Reborn didn't want her going back to England for whatever reason until his Guardianship over his daughter was one-hundred percent, air tight, bullet proof and _VARIA_ proof. No one was going to take her from him, not even her own dark secrets, _especially_ not those dark secrets.

"_All__ I __want __to__ do __is __practice_!" the girl repeated, frowning at him from where she was already folding up clothes and stowing them in her old ratty backpack. How Bianchi managed to miss that during her disposal of Ariah's old rags he did not know but he would remedy that soon enough if she kept arguing.

"_You__ aren__'__t __going.__ The __forests __are __very __dangerous, __there __are __bears, __wolves, __beasts,_" he listed sharply, already his mind filled with images of his daughter being mauled to death. They were entirely too vivid and bloody. He shuddered and the girl shot him a look of frustrated annoyance.

"_Nothing __too __dangerous __then_," she pointed out firmly, zipping her bag shut and shutting her father up in the process.

Not for the first time, Reborn wished Hermione were here to talk some sense into his daughter, the curly haired intellectual seemed to be one of the very few who could appeal to the smidgeon of common sense and logic the green eyed girl possessed. But the girl had been missing for the last two days, she said she was visiting the British Embassy in Tokyo to get some extra papers sorted and would be back in a day or two depending on how long it took to get permission. Permission for what, Reborn didn't know but judging by the look of anxiousness on Ariah's face when the curly haired girl announced this, she knew and she wasn't keen on it.

The doorbell ringing saved the Witch from suffering her father's temper as Hermione's voice rang out, "_Anyone __home? __I __got __the __papers_!" she called, pushing the admittedly unlocked front door open.

Ariah glanced fearfully at the tiny Arcobaleno before she hauled her bag up, "Y_eah, __I'm __just __heading__ out_," the black haired girl announced, her face set even against the frown of disapproval her friend wore when she entered the house.

"_Running__ away __won't __solve __anything,_" the brunette pointed out.

"_No,__ but __it'll __save __me__ from__ the __heartache_," she retorted snappishly.

Hermione sighed, turning her head slightly she called, "Gokudera!" And a moment later the rather surly looking Italian appeared, an eyebrow shooting into his hairline when he saw the expressions on the faces of all present. "_Gokudera,__ could __you __do __me __a __favour __and__ get __everyone__ together? __I__ need __to __talk __to__ Reborn __alone. __Why __don't __you __take __Ariah __out__ somewhere, __like __the __Arcade, __I__ know__ for __a __fact __she's __never __been __to __one._" The curly haired witch shot her friend a steady look that made the teenager fold her arms and scowl at the floor, Harry knew that look, it was the look of '_you __will __do__ what __I__ say__ or __I'll __Hex__ you_'. Quite wisely, he subsided and let her win that war.

"_Uh, __sure __Hermione-chan, __what __do __you __need __to__ talk __to__ Reborn-san__ about __though?_" the Italian asked, curious and a little suspicious because the brunette included Ariah in all her plans pretty much.

"_Some__thing __that __I'm __legally __not __allowed __to __tell __anyone __else,_" the Gryffindor explained with an apologetic look.

There was a moment of silence before Gokudera nodded and left to go and gather the others, Ariah was already making her way to the door, an odd expression on her face. One that made Hermione sigh sadly, her friend was so convinced that when Reborn found out about magic that would be it, the end of what chance at being a family they had. She was already trying to distance herself from him, and not very subtly judging by the look of worry that the Bookworm could perceive in the Arcobaleno's face – they were entirely too alike, they even bottled their emotions up and wore the same '_I'm __fine_' mask as each other, with the slight difference of Reborn adding sadistic amusement at the misfortune of others while Harry just dealt with it. It was almost eerie that all her years of learning how to read Harry were now helping her in reading the father.

Not too long later, the rest of the house, Tsuna, Gokudera, Bianchi, Yamamoto, Lambo, I-pin and Ariah were all making their way out of the house and towards the Arcade as Hermione had suggested. Already Gokudera and Lambo were arguing while Tsuna was trying to pull Ariah out of her depression – he was meeting rather limited success but it was that slight success that made parts of the Gryffindor relax. If Harry could find it in herself to crack even that tiny wobbly smile, then that meant she hadn't killed _all_ hope of finding a family in Reborn.

The door swung shut and Hermione gestured for the Arcobaleno to sit down, "_This__ will __take __a __while __and__ I __think __you __may __need __to__ sit __down__ for __it_," she admitted solemnly, taking a place of her own and rummaging into her bag for the papers as the fedora wearing baby perched himself on the coffee table.

A moment later, a rather official looking _parchment_ of all things was slid across to him along with... an ink bottle and a quill?

"_I __need __you__ to __read __and__ sign __this __before __I __can __go__ any __further. __If __I __don't, __Ariah __and__ I __will __go __to __jail __and__ you __and __everyone __else __in __this __house __will __forget __we __ever __existed_," the curly haired girl explained, gesturing him to read the paper. "_I'll __make__ some __coffee __while __you__ read__ it __over,_" she said getting to her feet and retreating to the kitchen. She needed a little more time to think of how best to explain the Harry-Ariah situation, the majority of the last two days had been leaping through all the hoops at the Ministry, getting both permission to inform Serafino Renato about the Magical World and obtaining permission to use underage Magic for Harry. Explaining the Magical World would be the easy part, Harry and his past before Ariah would be _hard_ because if she was right... then the tiny Mafioso was going to be rabid in protecting her best friend and that would inevitably suffocate and drive him off.

Finishing up her preparations – a pot of espresso strength black coffee, a tiny cup for the Mafioso, a second pot of ordinary tea (Tetley teabags, she had brought her own as green tea was just too bitter for her), a little pot of sugar, a jug of milk, and a small plate of biscuits (again, brought from England, Coconut Rings and Custard Creams) – the sixteen year old made her way back into the living room, her mind whirling with how best to explain this. Reborn was still reading the papers. Taking a breath, she set the tray down and went about making both herself a cup of tea and pouring the other a cup of espresso.

Reborn however was rather frustrated with this contract, it offered no loopholes in which to inform Timoteo or the rest of the Vongola what he was about to be told of. If it had, perhaps it could speed along the custody issues he was facing in England. He could only inform Family Members he trusted to hold the Secret and they too would have to sign this paper in order to be protected from the Authorities.

Family Members... it didn't specify _blood_ relations... He could inform Bianchi as his '_wife_' (apparently he went through the wedding ceremony while sleeping, which was surprisingly sneaky of her, that if anything he approved of) and then she in turn could inform Gokudera who would then have to inform the rest of the Vongola Guardians due to the fact he was part of the Vongola Famiglia, which then allowed them to inform Iemitsu and Timoteo due to the blood connection descending from the Primo. All in all... it seemed rather neat and tidy now that he had given it thought. He would have to get Bianchi to sign the papers when she got back as co-guardian of Ariah.

Smirking like the bastard he was, he used the quill and signed his real name as that was the one he was adopting Ariah through – and he didn't think it would look very good to the authorities if they knew a known and highly skilled assassin were attempting to do so after her previous guardians died. True, not under mysterious circumstances but that's never stopped them from leaping to erroneous conclusions before. (Thank god Shamal was so damn good at what he did.)

There was a pause as the ink dried and then the parchment began to curl up. Nodding to herself, Hermione set it aside and sighed, "_Where__ to __start.._." she murmured pinching the bridge of her nose.

"_The __beginning, __I __find, __is __often __the __best __place,_" Reborn suggested, sipping his espresso, just the way he liked it, Ariah had good taste in friends.

The witch laughed, "_To __go __back __to __the __beginning __huh?__ That's __quite __a __few__ millennia __I __hope __you __realise, __far __and__ long __before __humans __were __really __humans,_" she pointed out with a rather frazzled look on her face. Reborn paused, lips just beginning to burn from the hot liquid pressed against them, this was so old it pre-dated recorded civilisation? She sipped her tea and leaned back in her seat, legs crossing, her toes wiggling in her clean white socks.

"_I__ suppose __the __'_What_' __would __be __the __best __place __to__ start, __rather __than __the __'_How_'s._" She set her cup down and pinned Reborn with a stare, "_When __you __signed __that __piece __of __paper, __you __agreed __to __keep __an __entire __civilisation __secret. __We __have __operated __and__ existed __long __before __recorded __History, __often __in __hiding, __occasionally __in__ the __open, __such __things __operate __on __the __need __of __the __time. __At __the __moment, __we __are __in __hiding __and__ have __been __so __for__ several __centuries. __We __have __our __own__ culture, __foods, __holidays, __governments, __laws __and __even __creatures. __Separate __fashions __and __arts__ and __music, __it __is __an_ almost _completely __insulated __community __save __for __people __like__ myself, __and__ Ariah's __mother._

"_What __I'm __talking __to__ you __about __is... __in__ the__ simplest __of __terms__ and __the __closest __description__ of__ our __abilities, __is __Magic.__ The __power __to __bend __reality __to__ our __will_," the curly haired woman explained, casually Transfiguring the near-by pillow into a kitten as an example.

Reborn's eyes were wide, he had been sceptical when the word Magic left the girl's lips but seeing her casually turn a _pillow_ into a cat, a cat which was swiftly captured and examined despite its squirming, scratching and yowling, he even went so far as to cut it with Leon and taste the blood. It was blood alright. And the cat was warm, breathing, bleeding, feeling and for all intents and purposes living and no longer _a __pillow_.

Another flick of the slender wooden rod in Hermione's fingers turned the cat back into a pillow, complete with tear in the fabric where he had sliced it open. Yet the taste of blood in his mouth didn't abate. "_It __is __a __secular __society, __very __few__ people __leave __and __only __those __exceptionally __high __in __the __Regular __Government__ are __even __aware __of __us. __As __far __as__ I'm__ aware, __that __is __the __Royal __Family __and __the __Prime __Minister __in __England_."

"_You __said __that __for __you __and __Ariah's __mother __it __was__ different, __what__ do __you__ mean?_" Reborn asked, glancing at the pillow every now and again as if expecting it to launch itself at him and shed all over his suit, or try to eat Leon. Nothing happened but it did not abate his paranoia, there was a new player in the game, another facet to consider in life and he wasn't sure he liked it.

Hermione nodded, "_As__ I __told __you, __it __is __a__ separate __society __and... __a __very __racist __one,_" she explained bitterly, causing Reborn to look at her warily, that was the voice of experience talking there. "T_hose __people __who __can __trace __their __ability __back __through __family __lines __are __called__ '_Purebloods_'.__ They __consider__ themselves __superior __due __to __this. __They're __often __so __steeped __in __magic __that __the__ goings __on __of __Regular __folk __aren't __even __noticed, __they__ still __think__ they're __Neanderthals. __But__ the __ability, __Magic, __its... __not __limited__ to __just __family __lines __and __blood __connections. __No __one __in __my __family __has __ever __been__ Magical __and __yet __I __had __the __ability.__ The __same __with __Ariah's __mother. __We're__ called __Muggleborns,__ that's __the __politically __correct__ term. __For __a __society __that__ is __so __focused __on __the__ purity __of__ blood, __we __are, __at__ best, __considered__ second __class __citizens __and __at __worse, __vermin__ to __be __eradicated __by __certain __political __factions._" Something in Reborn's chest squeezed so tightly he began to feel a little ill.

"_What __does __this __have__ to __do __with __Ariah_?" he asked, the girl wouldn't be explaining such negative things unless there was a reason, everything she did had a reason, it may not be well thought out at times but it was always well intentioned.

"_Ariah's__ mother __and __father __were __murdered __for __fighting __against __Pureblood __beliefs, __and __now__ she __is __a__ target __of __the __man __who __did__ it._"

All the blood drained from Reborn's features as the truth, the whole truth, of his daughter, of Harry Potter and Ariah Serafino, of the Magical World, the Prophesy, Voldemort, Dumbledore, Hogwarts and Magic was laid out in front of him by his daughter's bestfriend and greatest supporter. She brought out books to explain the society, the spells and magics, she managed to dig out Ariah's photo-album where he got a look at his _son_ with another man's face, saw the mother of his child for the first time, saw her friends and her school, the animals and artefacts and the teachers. He read the letter that Lily had written her daughter and understood the pain and the self-loathing the woman felt as she wrote it.

By the time they were finished it was getting dark. Hermione's voice was cracking and failing, they had gone through three pots of coffee and tea respectively, the biscuits were all gone and the remains of sandwiches littered forgotten plates. Nana had appeared briefly before going out again, tonight was her bi-monthly book club meeting and she wouldn't be back until late, Tsuna and the others had called briefly asking if it was alright to return and decided to stay the night at Yamamoto's as neither of them had finished just yet. Reborn was exhausted, he felt the age he should have been and raged behind the mask he was certain the girl could see behind over his daughter's past, her stolen identity and harsh destiny.

The two of them sat in silence before, without a word, they got to their feet and left the living room in order to wash up and go to bed, heedless of the thunder crashing outside and the rattle of wind and rain on the windows.

_**000**_

"Which Arcade should we go to?" Bianchi wondered lazily, one arm wrapped around her Step-Daughter in an effort to prevent the girl from escaping, they had managed to get her to leave her bag in the house but that didn't mean she wasn't going to try and make a run for it again, like during that Shopping Trip. Thankfully though, she was behaving herself.

"Oooh! We should go to the one behind the second hand Manga place, y'know, the one with the _huge_ Lelouch banner out front!" Yamamoto enthusiastically suggested, grinning broadly as he looked down at the others. He loved that Arcade, it was the only one with a baseball machine that let him go all out on a swing and still gauged how powerful he was without copping out and just saying '_Off__ the __scale_'.

Tsuna nodded happily, "I know the one! It's one of the best in the city but it's not very popular because its small!"

Gokudera nodded as if this settled it, "If Juudaime wants to go then we're going!" he declared firmly with a nod, the group laughing and cheering as they moved away, Ariah plastered to Bianchi's side worryingly silent.

The arcade was small, only three floors and roughly eight-hundred metres long by five hundred wide (which was indeed small for a Japanese arcade where five floors of twice those proportions were the norm). It was dark and noisy, full of ringing and chiming machines, chirpy voices cat calling through the darkness and bright colourful lights blinking, flashing and pulsing through the gloom. It was like an entirely different world to Harry who suddenly found himself sandwiched between Gokudera and Tsuna as Bianchi left to go and get them some coins to use – cheekily waggling Reborn's wallet as she did so, leaving no doubt in anyone's mind who was paying for their afternoon of fun. Tsuna wasn't quite sure how to feel about this because he was fairly certain that Reborn would take the cost out of his hide in the future, but one glance at Ariah's still anxious and worried face culled those thoughts as he plastered on an encouraging smile.

"C'mon Ariah-chan, let's check out the Dance Machines," he suggested brightly, catching the girl by the wrist and pulling her through the darkness along side Gokudera who seemed quite enthusiastic about seeing his Juudaime bust a few moves.

Memories of that god _awful_ Yule Ball ran through Harry's mind once he had successfully translated Tsuna's suggestion in his head and it was only Gokudera appearing behind and giving her some encouraging pushes that stopped her from digging her heels in and clinging to the nearest game-console to prevent himself from getting dragged to her doom. The machines weren't so bad though, a few girls had beaten them to them and were currently duking it out to some very fast paced poppy Japanese song, their feet practically an insane blur as they tapped the arrows beneath them in time to the arrows on the screen reaching the markers. Harry watched them like a hawk, a little shocked that he could follow their movements but at the same time knowing that it was due to the Potion merely awakening his latent potential and abilities. It was queer though, like the first time he went for the Snitch, everything just became so clear as he focused on their feet, the flashing arrows, the background becoming nothing more than white noise as the song came to an end and the girls either celebrated or complained.

"Our turn!" Gokudera cheered, grinning as he pushed the Juudaime and Ariah-chan up onto the game, making sure to do it just hard enough to make them stumble into each other. The blush that flamed on the Juudaime's face couldn't be mistaken, the Storm Guardian grinned broadly in amusement. No offence to Haru or Kyoko but he didn't think he could approve of such weaklings dating the Juudaime, he had enough on his plate already and as a good Second he did his best to support his Boss but the last thing he needed to worry about were silly women who couldn't defend themselves.

Yes they could teach the girls to defend themselves but Kyoko was a pacifist, she would rather be hurt herself than fight back and hurt someone else, in that sense she was wholly inappropriate to be the Juudaime's wife. She would disapprove of his actions and eventually their relationship would sour considerably, causing a great deal of pain for the Juudaime and turmoil within the Vongola especially since her brother was the Sun Guardian. Haru was too airheaded, she wouldn't take it seriously, she wouldn't even be interested in learning how to fight, add to that because of her higher intelligence level she would think herself superior to the Juudaime and get in the way, causing powershifts and embarrassment to the Juudaime. Not to mention her strange fetish for small children and her rabid defence of their '_innocence_', not seeming to realise that the world was not kind to children and that her coddling of them was more damaging than a little neglect or bad language.

He shook his head, he shouldn't be thinking such things right now, today was a day to enjoy and tease the Juudaime as much as possible while getting him and Ariah-chan (whom he most certainly did approve of) as close to each other as he could conceivably manage. The baseball freak and his sister would help him, I-pin probably as well, the dumbass Cow would do everything he could to break them apart as he stupidly thought he was good enough for Reborn's daughter.

Tsuna scrolled through the songs, trying to calm the heat on his face as he recalled just what his hand grabbed while trying not to fall over, Ariah didn't seem to care that he'd just copped a feel but it was still embarrassing and his hand was still tingling and he felt hot all over and her breast was – he hit himself, hard, before his nose started bleeding and his brain completely descended into the gutter.

"A-ah! Let's try this one, its nice and easy," the Tenth Vongola decided, hitting the button to start the game up. It was fairly easy but Ariah seemed to be doing badly, she just couldn't find the rhythm and the girls from earlier were giggling about clumsy Gaijin by the time their scores came up. Tsuna got an A while Ariah was left scowling at an F. Before Tsuna could suggest a different game, the girl had already stuck in another coin and was scrolling through the songs, settling on an unfamiliar rock song and putting the difficult from Beginner up past Easy and Intermediate onto Expert. "Hii! Don't you think you should start off slower?" Tsuna squawked as the heavy rock music started up and the arrows practically flew up the screen.

Harry's feet flew, he couldn't handle the slower songs because it threw his rhythm off, the faster songs, the ones where he had to keep moving... it was like flying. He didn't think, he just _did __it_.

"Hahah, she's really good!" Yamamoto chirped happily as he appeared from the darkness at Gokudera's elbow, nearly making the silver haired teenager jump a foot in the air.

"Awesome! Awesome! Neechan Awesome!" Lambo hollered from his arms excitedly, nearly bashing the Rain Guardian's chin with his head as he got all worked up seeing Ariah on the dance floor with Tsuna only just managing to get his rhythm and focusing on winning, the two of them were battling pretty hard, the familiar look of focus on Tsuna's face making the Guardians grin excitedly and wonder who would win.

They both tied on that one though Ariah stated Tsuna won because it too him longer to get his rhythm, meaning that he made up the difference between their scores in less time it took for her to gain it. After that they went to Yamamoto's favourite baseball game where everyone tested their Swing, his obviously was the strongest, followed by Tsuna, Gokudera and then Ariah who pouted at her low score. It was somewhat abysmal given that Oliver Wood said she would make a good beater.

The marksmenship and fighting games were tried out, Yamamoto and Gokudera tended to team up making Tsuna and Ariah a team to oppose them, Bianchi watching from the sidelines, smirking with the children as Lambo got steadily more and more put out that he wasn't able to play the Big Boy games. This eventually culminated in a screaming Lambo pulling out what looked like a Bazooka and shooting himself with it while no one was paying attention.

They certainly noticed when a fifteen year old Lambo suddenly appeared between Tsuna and Ariah, grasping the girl's hand even as he carefully bumped Tsuna aside (carefully because the teenager was still his precious Niichan), "_Dear __Lady,__ Fair__ Heart,_" he began in English, heedless to the way the girl's eyes were practically bugging out of her skull as she felt the Time-Distortions around him, not to mention the strange energy she usually felt when touching Lambo. "_I__ have __crossed __Oceans __of__ Time __to __be __with __you, __the __skies __and __stars __reverse __themselves __to__ – _" Whatever the sky and the stars were doing was never revealed as a split second later Gokudera's knee connected to the strange teenager's skull with great force.

"SHUT IT STUPID COW!" he roared, gently pushing the still rather shocked girl towards Juudaime who, equally as shocked, caught her and to his Guardian's great amusement, didn't let go. "How dare you paw Ariah-chan like that!" he snarled as the teenager tried to lever himself out of a game's console.

"One never forgets their first love, Hayato," Bianchi pointed out with an expression of greatly restrained hilarity on her face, she could feel her ribs creaking from the laughter she was holding back.

It was utter chaos as Gokudera began to abuse the strange teenager in the cow-print shirt, I-pin getting involved as well while Bianchi and Yamamoto finally gave into their laughter and had to lean against the games and other people so they wouldn't fall over. And all the while Tsuna and Ariah stood watching in stunned horror.

The two exchanged glances before Ariah quickly grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the chaos, the two hiding away outside where it was grey and had begun to rain. Tsuna watched as the girl held a hand out from under the protective tarps in front of the shop to see how bad the rain was, all the while thinking about Lambo's reaction in there. He clearly still had a crush on the British girl and was familiar with her. Did this mean she was more involved with the Vongola in the future? He hoped not, she shouldn't have to be involved in something like that.

"There you a- oh dear," Yamamoto said as he caught sight of the rain, the Baseball player was quite aware of Gokudera's scheming and since it seemed like so much fun setting the two up together he'd joined in. Ten-Years-Older Lambo just made his day even better with the overly romantic antics earlier, the fact that little Lambo had appeared with a lipstick print on his cheek just further sent Gokudera into fits of seething fury. "Seems like today may end sooner than anticipated," he muttered before digging into his pocket for his phone to check the weather reports. "We should probably head back, Tsuna, it says it's gonna storm pretty badly later."

The brunet nodded and dug his own phone out, dialling home to see if it were safe to return, a quick conversation with Reborn, who sounded really very distracted, vetoed that idea. Hanging up, he turned to Yamamoto who was grinning as he watched Ariah chase I-pin and Lambo around in the rain, the two children jumping in every puddle they could get their little feet into. Tsuna chuckled a little, "Yamamoto-kun, could we stay over yours tonight?" he asked a little hesitantly, "Reborn still hadn't finished talking to Hermione-san."

The easy going rain guardian nodded, "Sure, ooh, we can introduce Ariah-chan to Tousan's Sushi! She'll love it!" he exclaimed excitedly, practically bouncing in place. Plus, it gave him an excuse to get the two of them bunched together under a Kotatsu. He chuckled, Lambo would pitch a fit but he couldn't deny it would be cute. He could talk to his Dad about giving them the '_Couple's__ Special_' just to see what the look on Tsuna's face would be – he doubted Ariah would notice, as ignorant about Japanese culture and just romantic stuff in general that she was.

"Yeah!" Tsuna agreed excitedly as the girl in question came back, soaked to the bone with two little ones in arm, Lambo with his hands knotted in her shirt and I-pin, now caught, docilely sat perched upon her shoulder.

Yamamoto laughed at the sight of her, "Wow, Ariah-chan, you'd make a good mum!" he told her, receiving only a look of confusion on her face while Tsuna turned dark red in shock that his friend had the balls to say something like that to her.

"Damnit Baseball Freak! Don't say such weird things!" Gokudera snarled as he and his sister appeared out of the Arcade, Lambo screaming and yanking on Ariah's shirt at the sight of him – tearing it open.

Silence, for all of a second before Gokudera went apoplectic, Tsuna squawked and fell backwards, hands flying to his face to stem the flow of blood, Yamamoto roaring with laughter, slapping his leg, Bianchi yelling at the boys to stop looking, I-pin scolding Lambo who was wailing guiltily and in pain, over tearing Neechan's shirt, falling and then getting beaten up by Ahoudera. All the while, Harry stood in the middle of it, looked down at her torn shirt and then looked up in confusion at them all.

She was wearing a bra, what was the big deal?

_**000**_

The motley group of teenagers and children all ran to Yamamoto's house, getting thoroughly cold and soaked in the process as they finally entered into the Sushi restaurant and met the smiling man behind the counter who ushered them inside. The boys to the downstairs bathroom to warm up and the girls to the upstairs one, he quickly laid out towels for everyone and a few spare changes of clothes – he did have to go digging into his late wife's clothes to find things for the ladies but he doubted if they would be interested in wearing either his or Takeshi's rags.

For Ariah, this was the most awkward and uncomfortable moment of her young life. Naked, wet and with his equally wet, naked and now soapy Step-Mother washing his back, chattering away happily while a wet and naked little girl ran around as well, with only soap suds to preserve what little modesty she had.

"_Wash __my __back__ would__ you__ please __Ariah?_" Bianchi asked as she pulled aside her wet hair, smiling over her shoulder at the teenager who was suddenly reminded of those moving pictures that Seamus sometimes like to show everyone from his Dad's latest copy of Naughty-Witch, a magical porn magazine that he sometimes gave to his son for Christmas. It this weren't a scene in one of those magazines, Harry would eat the Sorting Hat.

Swallowing against a suddenly very dry throat, the girl gathered a wet cloth and some of the body wash and got to work, focusing only on the colour of the skin and nothing else, she didn't look down or listen to the sigh of contentment the older woman gave. Much, much too embarrassed as he grasped the shower head and rinsed her off before retreating to his corner of the bathroom and cleaning up as quickly as possible in order to escape.

Bianchi watched in mild amusement and a little disappointment as the girl fled, drying off and redressing with her face still dark red, "She's surprisingly cute when flustered," the assassin noted, I-pin making a sound of agreement as she giggled.

For Ariah, the rest of the evening passed in a blur, she tried the food and found that she quite liked it, forced her way into the kitchen to help Yamamoto and his father with the washing up because she refused to eat for free as the old man told them they could. When the restaurant closed at around eight, everyone retreated into the Yamamoto Family's living room where the koatsu was brought out and the candles were lit – not a moment too soon as a particularly loud crash of thunder made the lights go out.

They spent the rest of the evening laughing and telling Ghost Stories, Harry even volunteering a few, though these were real events and mostly from Hogwarts that he perhaps added a little more dark drama to make it more spooky. The Basilisk and the Chamber of Secrets seemed to be the favourite, along with Nearly Headless Nick's Death Day Party.

By the time ten-o'clock rolled around, Lambo had fallen asleep in Ariah's lap, I-pin in Tsuna's and the only ones awake were Bianchi and Gokudera. The two smirking as the rosette haired assassin took a picture of Takeshi sprawled out over the floor with grape scented marker scrawled over his face by a cheeky Lambo and Ariah and Tsuna both practically curled up together with the two children between them.

"Do you think Reborn-san would approve?" Gokudera asked softly as his sister stowed her Camera away. She was planning on showing the pictures to Hermione and possibly Kyoko and Haru later.

Bianchi paused thoughtfully, turning the question over in her head. _Would_ her love approve of his daughter and his student becoming romantically involved? That was a very difficult question. "I think... I think he trusts Tsuna to be the best he can be for her," she decided thoughtfully. It may take a while before the assassin would allow it, but in the end, Tsuna was the _only_ one that her love would allow near his daughter in that fashion.

Gokudera nodded.

_**000**_

**Hehe, yeah, in case you didn't quite notice, I've made up my mind concerning pairings XDDDDD At the moment it isn't mutual, Harry's still rather guarded as demonstrated in this chapter he's still waiting for the other shoe to drop with Reborn. **

**If there was some confusion over the hims, hers, she's and he's then there is a very simple explanation for it – Harry is relaxing into Ariah more and more, it was who he was supposed to be, right now Nature vs Nurture is battling it out. Nature is winning. (As it always has in Harry Potter, otherwise Harry would be like Voldemort.)**

**EDIT: Spacing problem has been resolved I hope!  
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	7. Chapter 7

**WINTERTIDE**

**Please note: If the Italics are smooshed together, like last time, it is not my fault. I have edited this twice to make sure such errors are not in here, this is a formatting fault of FFnet. So please, to those who snapped and snarled at me last chapter, keep it to yourself this time. It is not my fault, this time or last and it was very hurtful that you would believe I could even think of churning out a chapter with such awful structure.**

**I work hard on these chapters and often rewrite them when I am unhappy with how it flows. My regular readers will know my frustrations with this, when I have popular stories, I get intimidated and frightened of displeasing my readers. **

_**000**_

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

What so few failed to realise that tragic Halloween night was that it was no _one_ thing that protected the Child of Prophesy from the Killing Curse and did away with the body of the Dark Lord.

Her mother's sacrifice, her Dying Will. The bloodlines of her adoptive father. The Curse of the Rainbow, the Flame of the Sun from her true father. All of these things culminated in that evening to protect the tiny child with green eyes staring up at the face of evil.

Three times Lily Potter was offered a chance to survive. Three times she refused and begged for her child's life, to take her own in exchange. Three is a powerful number in the Ancient Ways. Voldemort forgot this when, upon her third refusal, he struck her down, fulfilling the Ancient Magic of Oath that swirled around them – striking up the bargain. Lily Potter's life in exchange for that of her child's. A bargain that was broken before her body had even cooled upon the carpeting of her daughter's nursery as the Dark Lord raised his wand a third time that evening and struck out at the child protected by the Ancient Magics of Sacrifice.

A Magical Oath, once made, was not broken lightly and Magic itself rose up in retribution, striking down the Dark Lord, incinerating his body with his own magic. Had he not taken countermeasures against his own death, that eve would have been his last. Lily Potter's Dying Will would linger on in her child's skin and blood, protecting her with burning heat, a Mother's Unyielding Love as wide and encompassing as the Sky. But this was merely how the Dark Lord's body came to an end.

James Potter, last of the Peverell line, possessor of the Cloak that would hide him from his own Death. Upon handing that special cloak to the headmaster of Hogwarts, James Potter resigned his ownership over it. But, Albus Dumbledore had no blood right to the enchanted artefact and as much as he may have wished it so at the time... Magic did not recognise him as it's Master. No, as the last of the Potter line through blood adoption, Harry Potter, Ariah Serafino, the Cloak fell to the child and concealed her from her Death. When the _Avada __Kedavra_ sped towards her, Death did not follow for Death could not find her.

Her biological father's blood, the Curse of the Rainbow, the Flames of the Sun, of Rebirth and Healing, embraced her for the first time in her tiny life – though certainly not the last – rejuvenating those cells that the Death Curse scorched. Purified her of the tainted scum the Dark Magic left behind.

Lily's Dying will would protect her child from her Uncle and Aunt's fists, from the Traitor Rat who slept in the bed next to her and from the Oath Breaker who stole her mother's life. Her adoptive father's cloak to conceal her from her own Death, to hide her during those turbulent years at Hogwarts when she came face to face with the Oath Breaker, when she battled with the Basilisk, when the Soul Consumers bent their heads to her mouth to remove that which was most precious. Hidden from the sightless eyes of Death she continued to surpass the impossible and with the Flame of the Sun to heal her from pain and harm, her heart which should have broken remained battered but whole, her body, abused to the breaking point remained working, functioned and flew. Her soul which should have been black had been purified and protected by the shield her Mother and her Father created through the Flames of their souls.

Truly, she was a child much loved by her absentee parents.

And this child, clumsy and awkward with her feelings, still only just opening her eyes to that love, had finally found someone to receive her hesitant affection. Only to now have the fear of rejection consume her thoughts and have her shy away, withdraw and push that beloved someone away. To protect herself from the all too familiar ache of rejection.

Never knowing that rejection was the furthest thing from his mind.

_**000**_

For the first time since his early years, back when he was first starting out as an Assassin, Reborn was floundering. Sat on the ledge of Tsuna's bedroom window watching the sun beginning to rise over the rain soaked world below, the miniature Hitman thought, and thought hard. About the future, about the Vongola, Japan, England, his career, his friends, _Tsuna, _Ariah and the Magical World. He didn't think he had slept a single wink that night, unable to silence his raging thoughts as he lay in the somehow disturbingly silent bedroom and watched the rain hammer against the windows. The revelations of the Magical World had shaken him to the core, that much was obvious to those who knew him. More shocking were the discoveries about Ariah, or rather, Harry.

Reborn knew himself, quite a bit better than most would in their lives, he had to, as an assassin he could not allow himself to be manipulated. Knowingly or unknowingly. He would always be slightly misogynistic. It was the way he was raised. Much like Shamal, yet to differing degrees, he treated ladies like Ladies, they were treasures that were never meant to be sullied or harmed. They were supposed to be soft and sweet, yes if they could defend themselves that was all the better in his mind, a physically fit and mentally strong woman was always the best kind to him. But to be a fighter, a warrior? No. That was best left to men.

He knew that there were many who would disagree with this notion and he allowed them their opinions, but they were _someone __else's __opinions_. He would not, could not, expose a woman to the horrors he had seen. He knew only too well that had **Harry** shown up at the door looking for **his** father, Reborn would not have given much care to his physical appearance or mental well-being. Had he discovered the abuse, he would have dismissed it as something that his son needed to face and over-come by himself, much as Tsuna had to over-come his own bullying. He would of course give his son all the tools to do so, train him in much the same way he would any of his students, teaching him to fight, improving his knowledge and giving him the tools he needed. But other than that, he would have left the boy to it. With **Ariah**, he physically could not stand back when he discovered her situation because it was _abhorrent_ to him to leave a young _lady_ in such a squalid environment. A girl should not be forced to defend herself or fight like his daughter had been conditioned and forced to.

He had no say in what Bianchi did with herself, she was an assassin, not a warrior and she wasn't his responsibility. While he may have several strong words to say about the girl's father in his head, he kept them to himself. She was a smart, beautiful and capable woman, a Lady. A Lady would not launch herself into combat, she would take care of her enemy through assassination, via poisoning.

Hermione and Ariah _were __not __like __that_.

They had been forced to learn how to fight through experience, the hard, fast and dirty way. His daughter more so than the curly haired young woman. She would throw herself into a fray and face her enemy head on, Hermione told him, staring down at her tea as she told him of how her heart practically stopped when she saw her friend throw herself at a murderer with such grim determination written on her face.

Reborn knew that Hermione had not told him everything of what Ariah had gone through, that it was most likely a lot worse than what he was imagining. He knew that he was _achingly_ proud and equally _terrified_ for the green eyed girl who had somehow managed to worm her way beneath the layers of ice he encased his heart with. And he knew... he knew that no matter what happened, how far she pushed him, he would not, could not, cast her aside.

Truth was stranger than fiction and he was terrified of what would happen to her if he were not at her side.

Already her childhood, her mother, her very physical identity had been stolen, and while she may consider herself male in all the ways that mattered, Reborn could not make that connection in his mind. Ariah...

Ariah was... She was **Ariah ****Serafino**. And she was **HIS**. **DAUGHTER**.

He got to his feet and reached for his clothing, Leon chirping sleepily from the brim of his hat on his long cold pillow. He had to see his daughter and he had to see her now, he decided as he finished dressing, scooping up the hat, Leon clinging to the orange sash. The little hitman jumped to the ground and dug out a scrap of paper from Tsuna's desk, writing a quick note to Hermione to explain where he had gone before leaving heading down the stairs and leaving it on the living room coffee table.

She was fast asleep, leg hanging off the sofa and a rather unattractive ribbon of drool leaking from the corner of her mouth, hair rioting around her face. Reborn smiled slightly and tugged lightly on her blankets, covering her bare leg and shoulder before slipping out of the living room to put his shoes on and escape the house.

The sun had barely crested the horizon, streaking pink and green and gold across the sky, the distant trees and houses looking almost black with shadows, lines glittering and sparkling with the rain from the previous night. He splashed through puddles thoughtfully as he made his way to Yamamoto's house, pausing briefly to greet the boy's father as he stepped out of the shop to make his traditional morning jaunt to the local fishmarket. Tsuyoshi chuckled as he let the miniature hitman into his home before making his way to the markets.

Once inside, Reborn kicked his shoes off and went in search of his daughter, finding her in the Yamamoto living room along with everyone else. It was still dark inside and he could hear the low whir of a heater, the smell of oranges and cherryblossoms filled the room along with the soft deep breathing of it's occupants. He could see Bianchi fast asleep curled up around her younger brother, goggles digging into her face, it was going to leave some horrible red lines but he didn't think she cared as she shifted and hugged the silver haired teenager a little tighter to her chest. Gokudera had a slightly perplexed frown on his face but otherwise seemed almost as dead to the world as Yamamoto who was sprawled out across the floor snoring with a broad grin on his face, fingers twitching as he mumbled about baseball every now and again. One leg was under the family Koatsu with a thin blanket bunched up around his waist, clearly he was a restless sleeper judging by the way his leg twitched and he shifted forcefully to one side. He pitied any girl or boy who shared a bed with him, they would end up getting kicked out of it more often than not.

He then spotted his daughter and student, and despite their position, all he felt was a sharp stab of anxiety at the puffy red flesh and obvious tear-tracks on her face. Leon clicked inaudibly as Reborn took his hat off, setting it on top of the koatsu next to the melted cherryblossom and orange scented candles.

He found himself a spot between the two teenagers and the other two infants, Lambo had a corner of Tsuna's sleeve in his mouth and was happily chewing on it while I-pin was still and peaceful, her breath whistling slightly between her slightly pasted lips. It was quiet and it was peaceful and the exhaustion of everything laid upon him suddenly came crashing down.

His thoughts calmed with his resolve to remain with his daughter, the Sun Arcobaleno curled up, pressing against the teenage girl with his hands knotted in her clothing as sleep finally claimed him.

_**000**_

The night had been difficult for Harry once he had fallen asleep, the harder than usual floor brought to mind the Cupboard Under the Stairs, he dreamed of the cold hard floor in the Ministry of Magic, the sound of Voldemort's cackling laughter filling his ears, the sound of Bellatrix's shrieking laughter... Sirius... his hair whipping around him, the expression of reckless laughter and abandonment slackening on his features into one of startlement just as he vanished, swallowed by tattered gossamer curtains and whispering stone. Nagini hissing and leaning back, Mr Weasley unaware and a fountain of scarlet, a scream of agony – his own, pain from the Cruciatus burning every nerve ending. Being trapped in a drooling body, watching as everyone visited but being unable to greet them, the damage done by the torture curse trapping her in her own body, like Alice and Frank Longbottom. Her chin being wiped by an old and tired looking Hermione who smiled weakly and told her that her father would come for Christmas, only, she spent the day alone, forgotten in a wheelchair in the visitor's lounge, staring out of the open window as it started snowing and her skin slowly froze. Abandoned. Rejected.

She woke up to a soft hand shaking her shoulder.

It was clear to Tsuna that she had been having a rather awful nightmare when he woke to hear the strangled sniffs and shaky gasps for air, he had been the only one to hear them and usually he was a heavy sleeper, lately though he had been waking up just in time to avoid whatever it was that Reborn had in store for a wake-up call. The short haired girl's face was screwed up in emotional agony, her eyes and nose running slightly as she curled up into herself as tightly as possible.

He quickly reached out and woke her before either Lambo or I-pin became aware of her distress.

The expression of utter anguish on her face when she became aware terrified him, he didn't know how to deal with crying girls! He fumbled for a moment before using the edge of his sleeve to wipe her face like his mum used to when he was a kid and started crying because he'd skinned his knee or something. She blinked and closed her eyes tightly, almost cringing back as he did so perhaps a little more roughly than he intended, but she didn't comment but nor did she stop crying.

A little desperate now, he shifted both I-pin and Lambo a little and moved closer, throwing one arm over her shoulders.

"Its okay," he whispered quietly, "It'll be alright, whatever it was, you're okay now." He continued on that vein for a while, he had no idea what brought about her nightmares, what they were about, nor why she was crying. He couldn't even ask her as neither of them understood the other, this was the best he could do to comfort her and chase whatever it was that upset her away.

Neither noticed when they fell asleep properly, just that when they awoke it was early, Ariah had not suffered anymore nightmares, the friendly arm around her chasing them away as much as the little warm bodies pressed tightly against her. Including the one that hadn't been there when they fell asleep.

Tsuna squealed and flung himself away from his Home Tutor and the man's daughter, well aware of how he may react to their proximity to one another, accidentally causing I-pin to tumble roughly to the ground and wake with a squeak. Lambo waking up and squawking and shouting at Reborn, reaching for his explosives as the other Hitman awoke and smacked both the idiot cow and Tsuna with Leon turned into a mallet. Yamamoto laughed gaily despite his obvious sleepiness while Bianchi glowered hot death at all of them, too tired to do anything else, and her brother launched himself at the idiot cow to strange him.

Ariah just stared at her father.

Out of everyone in the room, only Bianchi actually noticed and, despite her sleepiness, she knew this was something that needed to be addressed in private. "Breakfast!" she declared, smirking as she turned and made her way into the kitchen with everyone following after quickly to try and dissuade her from doing the cooking. Not wanting to be poisoned.

Leon squeaked, watching as his Master stared up at his hatchling, the girl sitting on the floor, her blanket pooled at her waist, face tear streaked and her hair messy. She swallowed, unable to pull her eyes away from his own dark ones. For the first time since he met her, Reborn could see Lily Potter in the girl's face, before now he had nothing to compare, but he could see now that she had inherited her mother's eyes and nose, the line of his jaw and his hair colour, her eye colour, his complexion, even his ears and eyebrows. He couldn't pull his eyes away from the image that was a perfect mix of himself and a remarkable woman he was ashamed not to have known properly nor bothered to even remember.

The Gryffindor swallowed and scraped up the bravery that her House was so well known for.

"_So._.." she trailed off, feeling her throat attempting to close up but forcefully beating it back, "_Y-you __know?_" she questioned, her voice breaking as she trembled. Green boring into black.

"_I __do_," the assassin confirmed. He could read everything in her eyes, he had never noticed before but her eyes were so clear, he could see _everything_ in them, all her fear, all her anxiousness, her guilt, self loathing and the painful, _painful_ spark of hope that had almost been smothered by everything else.

She was shaking rather violently now. "_And..._"

"_I __don't __care_," the Hitman told her firmly, deciding that he had never said any truer words as he made his way forward and hopped onto her lap, wrapping his tiny arms as far around her thin waist as he physically could. "_You __are __my __daughter, __Magic, __Wizards, __Harry, __Voldemort __or __not. __You __are __mine_."

Her stomach hurt, it ached and churned and her skin tingled and crawled as if cold, he was a warm solid weight on her stomach and she could feel her fingers stinging and numb as she reached for him. Her throat closing as she drew him closer and started to cry, curling her whole body around him. Reborn smiled pressing his tiny hands against her cheek and wishing, more powerfully than ever before, that he had never been Cursed as he rested his forehead against her own, murmuring soft words of comfort as he laid a kiss against her temple.

She cried until her cheeks and eyes burned with pain, hiccuping to a stop as her churning stomach audibly reminded her that it was time for breakfast and that crying took a lot of energy. But she didn't move, not wanting to face the others just yet, wanting just a few more minutes alone with her _father_, her _dad_.

Her chest felt full to bursting, like that same happy balloon from when she first found out about Hogwarts was back but bigger and better and **brighter** than ever! She knew she was smiling even as the last of her tears ran down her cheeks but, she couldn't stop it, she laughed as even more tears fell, her arms tightening around the tiny hitman.

"_Come __on,_" her father told her softly, pushing her hair from her face, "_We've __intruded __on __Yamamoto's __hospitality __enough. __Hermione is __no __doubt __worried, __after __breakfast __we'll __all __head __home,_" he said, wiping away her tears, unable to shake the smile from his own mouth.

Ariah nodded and got to her feet, wiping her face with her sleeve and sniffing slightly as she cradled her father in the other. Picking up his hat and Leon, the Gryffindor made her way out of the room, smiling at the undisguised looks of concern and anxiousness on the faces of everyone around them, everyone immediately clustering around the pair when they exited. Lambo shouting and pointing accusingly at Reborn from Yamamoto's arm, very angry at him for making Ariah-neechan cry, I-pin too was frowning unhappily from Bianchi's arms. The three boys were directing their questions to Ariah, Gokudera acting as a translator as he equally panicked over her rather rumpled and upset appearance. Bianchi even shot her Beloved a Look before her features relaxed at the look of happiness on her Step-Daughter's face.

"_I'm __fine, __honestly,_" Ariah assured the boys, waving off their concerns with a smile.

Tsuna narrowed his eyes on her briefly before a smile broke on his face, "C'mon Gokudera-kun, Yamamoto'kun, let's finish making breakfast," he suggested, giving them a not-so-subtle shove back towards the rice cooker so they could finish getting breakfast together for everyone. Taking the hint, the two boys followed their Boss's example, taking the still hollaring Lambo along with them before he could whip out several grenades and redecorate Yamamoto's hallway.

After a moment, the rosette haired woman stepped forward, gently cupping the younger girl's face, "_Are __you __really?_" she asked gently, seriously.

Ariah glanced briefly to her father before looking back up at the older woman and nodding firmly, the smile on her face impossible to brush aside.

"_That's __good __enough __for __me,_" Bianchi declared, pressing a kiss against the younger girl's forehead.

_**000**_

Hermione knew _immediately_ when her friend walked through that door with red rimmed eyes and a smile on her face that everything had worked out. She dropped her tea, almost spilling it across the table and her heavy Arithmancy book, and rushed out of the house. Shouldering past Gokudera and Yamamoto to throw her arms around her bestfriend, laughing happily for her as she shifted her grip and actually picked her up to spin her around. The startled laugh of delight the smaller girl gave was more than enough to lay absolutely _any_ fears the other Gryffindor had to rest.

It had all worked out. It was alright.

This whole trip had been worth it, every single up and down, every penny and frustrating dead end.

She drew back to look her friend in the eye, both of them ignoring everyone else around them as they communicated with their eyes alone and suddenly started laughing, Ariah looking as though she were on the verge of crying again and Hermione already with tears tracking down her cheeks as she hugged her bestfriend again, squeezing her and rocking from side to side. The boys, completely oblivious as to what was going on, were ushered inside by a fondly smiling Bianchi who carried both Reborn and I-pin as well, giving the girls some much needed privacy.

Gokudera was the only one to notice that Hermione had gone running out into the wet and puddle strewn front garden without her shoes on in order to greet her friend.

"Everyone follow me into the living room please," Reborn called, gesturing at them, "There's something you all should know," he informed them. This may earn him his daughter's anger but he was not allow this to go unheeded, the Guardians needed to know, the Vongola needed to know. She needed protection and they needed to know what they were getting into – because he would trust no one else with his daughter's life.

"Bianchi, please call the rest of the Guardians, Gokudera, up in Tsuna's room is my briefcase, fetch it for me. Tsuna, I need an extension cable for my laptop, this is something that requires the _whole_ Famiglia, all of the Vongola's attention," the Sun Arcobaleno declared, seating himself on the arm of the sofa as Yamamoto went about folding the blankets Hermione had been too emotional to deal with that morning.

Nodding in a mixture of confusion and nervousness, they went off to fulfil their tasks, noticing both Hermione and Ariah had come back inside. The former drying her eyes with a piece of kitchen roll while the latter made a cup of tea for the both of them.

It took barely any time to set up Reborn's laptop and get the other Guardians to come over, they were even able to introduce Chrome to Ariah and vice versa. The two girls exchanging rather awkward greetings, the Mist Guardian swiftly retreating into the living room while Ariah merely blinked and looked at the boys in confusion, they shrugged and the matter was left at that.

It was only when everything was set up that Hermione came in, a perplexed frown on her face, until she saw the Parchment Reborn had in his hand.

All activity in the room ceased then, everyone was looking at her and waiting for her reaction, she looked at Reborn and sighed, "_You __move __quickly. __I __expected __it __would __take __you __at __least __a __few __more __weeks __before __this __happened_," she admitted easily. Taking all of them by surprise. "_Just be sure to sign it before you spill the beans. All the books I used are under the sofa along with Ariah's photo-album,_" she informed him before sipping at her tea.

Before they had a chance to react, Ariah's head popped around the corner, she looked pale and rather wide eyed, "_Hermione, __I __need __your __help __with __something_," she squeaked, looking somewhat queasy.

"_What __is __it?_" the Gryffindor asked, setting her tea down only to have her friend give everyone in the room an edgy look and shake her head. "_They're __about __to __find __out __anyway_," the brunette pointed out only to have her friend shake her head again.

"_I __don't __care __about __that, __just, __please?_" she whispered, her expression now mortally embarrassed as she quickly retreated from the curious gazes of everyone in the room.

Hermione frowned in confusion before turning to them, "_I'll __be __back __in __a __bit. __Reborn __can __explain __everything, __I'll __answer __questions __once __I've __helped __Ariah_," she explained before following her bestfriend towards the bathroom at the back of the house, far away from everyone else. "_What __is __the __matter __Harry?_" the girl asked.

Ariah swallowed and looked at her in a mixture of mortification and anxiousness, "_I... __I __just __started... __I __went __to __the..._" She stopped, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Held it. Breathed out and opened her eyes. "_I __just __started __my __period,_" she finally blurted out, cheeks crimson.

Hermione's eyes widened, this... she hadn't expected this.

_**000**_

**XDDDDD END CHAPTER!**

**Heh, yeah. This has been a very emotional chapter for everyone, especially Harry. Now, just to explain a few things in case people aren't too sure why I put it in.**

**(1)****Hermione****drooling****in****her****sleep:** She's not perfect and as flaws go, while its a little gross its also kind of cute.

**(2)****Harry/Ariah****crying:** Yeah, this is an affect of her Period starting. This is her FIRST one ever. Due to the potions and the spells her body is still adjusting to its new chemistry so her hormone levels are ALL over the place, culminating in a very emotional Ariah during that time of the month. As for Hermione not expecting it, well, Harry's been under these spells and such for so long, there is a chance that her brain chemistry and her internal structure has been permanently stunted or under-developed because of it. Just goes to show you how convenient Magic is.

**(3)****Super!Harry****and****power-levels:** This is apparently concerning a few people so I'll be blunt. Think of it this way chaps and chapettes, he's supposed to be Voldemort's Equal. The Equal of a dude that Dumbledore (Who is supposed to be the most powerful and skilled member of the Wizarding World) couldn't defeat no matter how hard he fought, the equal of a guy who had 50-years more experience and _help_. As I know for a fact that back then, he had the Slug Club at his back AND a decent education.

One piddly _Expelliarmus_ is not going to cut it. Rowling copped out on the ending, and I'm still very pissed off about it. Love? Don't make me laugh.

So yeah, Ariah will come across very Super, but that's mainly because a lot of her potential has suddenly been unlocked, she'll still be exploring it but that instinct she's got, that's something Harry's always had. The instinct for Flying came from James's blood-adoption just like her ownership of the Cloak, when it comes to Magic that instinct comes from Lily who is canonly considered to be the brightest witch of her age, already a Charm's Mistress by 21 and one of the few people to defy Voldemort 3 times and get away with it, so yeah, Lily was supposed to be bad ass. And now the Killer Instincts of an Assassin and a Warrior from Reborn. She is the culmination of some fucking AWESOME breeding.

_In comparison to canon!Harry, Ariah is going to be SUPER. _

She won't be more powerful than the KHR group, just more versatile, which can sometimes be a heck of a lot more useful.


	8. Chapter 8

**WINTERTIDE**

_**000**_

WARNING: Hermione explains periods and Toxic Shock Syndrome in rather... horrific detail.

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

This was NOT a situation either of them had prepared for.

In honesty, the idea of the '_Crimson __Wave_' hadn't even passed Harry's mind, he was well aware of it and everything it involved as, embarrassingly enough, while doing the laundry he came across Petunia's soiled underwear and, being only seven at the time, promptly had a freak out. It was the only time when the usually sour woman actually comforted him, though it may have been out of sheer startlement as he launched himself at her sobbing and begging her not to die. She sat him down after he'd calmed down to explain what happened and after that, Petunia handled her own washing while Harry did all the rest.

Hermione however, wasn't due just yet as her cycle usually began at the start of the month – so she had neglected to bring any, ahem, '_Ladies __Requirements_'. She did, however, know a few spells that Lavender and Pavarti were quite fond of for this time of month, they weren't perfect but they would hold until she could get hold of what was needed. And she would need either Bianchi or Gokudera's help.

She baulked slightly at asking a teenage boy to hunt down Sanitary Towels and Tampons for her so that left Bianchi as their only Japanese Speaking Saviour. Unfortunately she was currently getting a crash-course in the Magical World. Which left...

Reborn...

Almost as if sensing her thoughts, Harry grabbed her arm, "_Don't __you __dare __ask __Dad_," he hissed, face crimson with embarrassment.

"_We __kind __of __don't __have __a __choice,_" the other girl pointed out apologetically. "_Bianchi __needs __to __be __told __about __the __Magical __World, __you __wouldn't __want __Gokudera __to __fetch __them __for __you __and __I __don't __know __Japanese __well __enough __to __get __them __either. __Not __to __mention __the __Cashier __probably __won't __know __English __in __a __quiet __little __suburb __like __this,_" she explained with a grimace of embarrassment for her friend who was rapidly getting more and more uncomfortable and flustered with the idea of her father going out and fetching '_Girl __stuff_' for him.

"_The __spells?_" she asked weakly.

"_Won't __hold __for __longer __than __an __hour __or __so. __They're __designed __to __delay __or __prevent __leakage __until __you __can __either __get __the __proper __contraceptive __potions __or __hygiene __products. __Its __really __not __healthy __to __hold __them __for __any __longer. __Have __you __ever __heard __of __Toxic __Shock __Syndrome?_" Hermione asked, slipping back into lecture mode. Harry shook his head, looking a little frightened and the older Gryffindor sat herself down so they could talk properly. "_Basically, __its __a __possibly __fatal __bacterial __infection. __Your __body __flushes __the __womb __of __its __internal __padding __once __a __month, __that's __a __period. __Like __everything __organic, __the __padding __is __full __of __bacteria, __usually __this __isn't __dangerous __because __it __is __beneficial __while __the __body __supports __it. __But __when __the __padding __is __ground __off __by __your __stomach __cramping __it __begins __to __rot, __which __is __why __your __system __has __to __flush __itself __out. __Hence __why __it's __really __not __a __good __idea __to __be __under __those __spells __for __too __long. __Its __not __even __a __good __idea __to __leave __a __Tampon __in __for __longer __than __eight __hours, __no __matter __how __light __your __flow __is._"

Ariah looked rather green and very, very white by the time her friend had finished explaining exactly what was happening inside her right now, she had wondered _how_ she was bleeding when she was fairly sure she hadn't hurt herself, but this was more information than she wanted. Memories of Dean Thomas and Seamus joking about how you should never trust a creature that bled for a week and yet didn't die surfaced in his brain making him want to punch them as well as start crying all at the same time.

The fact that her stomach was beginning to hurt as well was not helping her mood.

"_Contraceptive __potions?_" she tried and Hermione shook her head.

"_I __don't __have __the __ingredients __and __there __isn't __an __Apothcary __in __the __area, __I __checked_."

Well. That was that then, wasn't it? Ariah sighed in defeat, drawing her knees up to her chest, hoping that it would lessen the pain in her abdomen. It did, but her mood did not improve in the slightest as Hermione got to her feet, "_I'll __ask __for __some __pain killers __and __tablets __as __well, __you'll __feel __a __lot __brighter __once __you've __had __some __of __them,_" she said quietly, "_When __you __feel __up __to __it, __I'll __be __in __the __living __room __answering __questions __for __the __others._"

Hermione hated leaving her friend there, sat on the bathroom floor looking miserable with her chin resting on her knees, but pitying her wasn't going to help her in the slightest. And Harry hated pity at the best of times. Writing a quick list of 400mg Ibuprofen tablets, 200mg Transexamix Acid tablets, Iron tablets, Hot Chocolate powder (mint and fudge if they had it) and two large bars of Cadburies Caramel Chocolate onto a piece of paper she went in search of her best friend's father.

Coming into the Living room it was clear she had just passed the grand unveiling. Judging by the fact that the laptop had been turned off, chances where Reborn had either been unable to get hold of his friend Timoteo, Tsuna's grandfather and the one hiring to tutor the boy, or the man had already been aware of the Magical World. She was betting money on it being the latter in all honesty. Reborn had such interesting friends, friends almost as interesting as him and more so in some areas.

"_M-Maioni-chan_," Gokudera spluttered, staring at her wide eyed in disbelief, "_Is, __this __can't __be..._"

She arched an eyebrow at him and smirked slightly, feeling a slight bit mischievous as she flicked her wand out and savoured the emotion she felt when Harry showed up with a tear stained smiling face and Reborn on his shoulder, "**Expecto ****Patronum**," she intoned, unable to stop herself from smiling as the happy feeling swelled inside of her. White and silver light flared from the tip of her wand as her Patronus Otter slithered out with a sound like chiming bells as it swamp through the air around her.

The looks on everyone's faces made her giggle just as much as her defender nuzzling against her hair and trying to stick his head down the back of her shirt.

"_This __is __a __Patronus, __a __defender __that __Ariah __taught __me __to __summon __last __year. __It __is __an __emotion __given __physical __form __into __the __shape __of __something __we __associate __with __protection_," the curly haired woman explained, gently stroking the still misty form as it crawled across her shoulders like Crookshanks, sniffing the air and staring at the assembled teenagers with pupilless silver orbs for eyes.

"_A __symbol __associated __with __protection?_" Gokudera asked, already digging out his notebook and avidly taking notes, "_Does __that __mean __Ariah-san __has __one __too? __What __is __it?_" he asked enthusiastically. After the demonstration, he had absolutely no problem with accepting what his eyes were telling him.

"_It __used __to __be __a __Stag. __But __they __change __as __we __grow __and __age. __A __strong __emotional __up heaval __can __do __the __same. __Chances __are, __Ariah's __has __changed __with __everything __that's __happened __so __I __don't __know __what __form __it __is __now,_" she explained, dismissing her shimmering otter in front of their fascinated eyes.

"_Where __is __Ariah?_" Reborn asked, peering up at her from under the brim of his hat.

The Gryffindor handed him the small scrap of paper, "_She's __a __little __distressed. __Could __you __please __pick __these __up? __I'll __take __over __here,_" she explained as succinctly as possible as she watched his eyebrow shoot up at the list and a look of fond amusement curl on his lips as he shook his head, folding the note up and tucking it into his breast pocket.

"_Will __do,_" he promised, getting to his feet and hopping to the floor from his little seat.

"Ah, Reborn, where are you going?" Tsuna asked in alarm. This whole day had been an utter roller-coaster! First Ariah-chan crying and then Reborn showing up and then the laughter and the crying and then _magic_ of all things and now he was just leaving?

The Arcobaleno nodded, "I need to pick a few things up from the Pharmacy. Hermione-san can explain everything much better than I can. Bianchi, Gokudera, would you please translate?"

"Of course, my love," the rosette haired woman acknowledged smirking in amusement, her brother was far too wrapped up in his notebook to answer or even begin to try and translate. His glasses were even beginning to fog up with how much he was sweating out of excitement. Smirking in shared amusement, Reborn took his leave, double checking that his cheeky 'wife' hadn't lifted his wallet again as he left the house.

"So... What sports does the magical world have?" Yamamoto asked through Bianchi, looking highly interested.

Hermione just groaned and dropped her head into her hand at the thought of having to explain Quidditch.

_**000**_

Thankfully for Ariah's dignity, only Hermione and Reborn were aware of her hygiene problems, though Bianchi and Chrome did figure it out when she spent most the afternoon curled up on the couch with hot chocolate and painkillers. They were, however, sympathetic and held their silence, instead questioning both of the Gryffindors about the Magical World.

Gokudera was fascinated by the Magical animals and peoples, he was desperate to meet a Veela, to say nothing of the Goblins. Yamamoto had grilled Ariah about Quidditch for almost an hour before she dug out her Omnioculars from the World Cup and handed them to him, he was currently sat in the corner of the room watching and squawking in surprise and excitement every now and again. Chrome was asking about the medicine, stunned to find out that there were potions that could regrow bones and even stimulate organ growth and improvement. Ryouhei had become obsessed with Duelling and its history and had almost obsessively devoured the book that Ariah had produced – despite his hatred of studying. Lambo was gobbling down sweets with I-pin while Bianchi asked about cooking and household charms, mentally vowing to speak with this Mrs Weasley that the two Gryffindors spoke so glowingly of. Hibari was lurking just outside the house, sitting beneath the window, Hibird perched on his knee, eyeing an order catalogue from A Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, paying particular attention to the Pygmy Puffs. An unreadable expression in his eyes as the moving photograph showed them squeaking silently and falling over themselves in fluffy doughy bundles, like kittens with too big paws.

Tsuna though was a different matter. Unlike the rest of them, he wasn't excited, nor was he fascinated. He was scared.

Not of them. _For_ them.

To him, the Magical World seemed scary with all its monsters and spells and potions, any of which if used in the right way could be _very_ dangerous. He was also the only one who picked up on the chance that those horror stories that Ariah told the night before were probably rooted in personal experiences more than over active imagination or too much sugar on Halloween in shared dormitories.

So far, the two Gryffindors were allowing the teenagers to absorb the knowledge of this new and quite frankly fascinating society before they moved on to explain their circumstances. The truth about Ariah and Harry was going to be kept quiet, the _truth-truth_, it would be entirely up to the green eyed girl if and or when she revealed that and to whom. Until that such point, the story was that she posed as a boy for political and safety reasons. Which was true enough when one explained or gave thought to the way Dark Purebloods handled family matters.

By the time everyone had settled Hibari was sat on the window-sill half in the room, the order catalogue nowhere in sight (it was rolled up in his jacket pocket), Yamamoto had finished with the World Cup and had his fingers itching to get hold of '_Quidditch __through __the __Ages_', Gokudera was scrambling for a second notebook as he had filled his first with his special G-Code. Bianchi had the children in arm, Lambo having fallen half into a sugar coma. Tsuna had migrated to sit beside Ariah who was still curled up, this time with Reborn perched comfortingly on her shoulder and Hermione sat on her otherside. Ryohei was fidgeting maniacally where he was sat on the floor, glancing repeatedly at the girls with a pained look in his eyes. Chrome had a book about Healing clutched to her chest as if it were a holy grail or the key to destroying her world – she didn't seem to know which at this point in time.

They were all looking at the two Witches in expectation.

Ariah glanced at Hermione pleadingly, did they really have to tell them about Voldemort? The other girl frowned scaldingly at her and the smaller of the pair scowled as she dropped her chin onto her knees, stubbornly remaining silent save to insert sarcastic and scathing comments throughout Hermione's explanation and Reborn's translation of her current situation. Neither of them really begrudged her the anger and frustration, it did just get a little annoying to hear her chuntering away bitterly though.

Gokudera's eyes had bugged out at some point during their explanation, his glasses slipping off the end of his nose as his notebook dangled from a limp hand. Bianchi was seething so much that all the food and plants within the room were purple and smoking in the face of her fury – automatically withering and becoming Poison Cooking without her even physically touching them. Yamamoto had stopped smiling and was sitting straight, one hand flexing almost like a nervous tic. Ryohei had gone completely motionless, an ugly look twisting his face. Chrome was practically cowering against the wall, her book now acting almost like a shield. Tsuna had moved slightly, pressing his leg against Ariah's as he knew holding her hand would just get Reborn trying to snap it off at the shoulder. Even Hibari was somewhat wide eyed and glaring at the two girls. Whether that was just what passed for a gobsmacked expression or one that promised eternal pain and damnation if any of the Death Eaters showed up and started causing problems in Namimori, neither girl could quite figure out.

The silence continued as Hermione began to fidget and Ariah looked each and every one of them in the eye.

"So," Tsuna began softly, "How do we best handle this?" he asked, looking seriously at the two girls.

Hermione blinked, her eyes widening even as Ariah just frowned in confusion, listening to her father translate.

"_We? __You're __not __doing __anything. __This __is __my __problem,_" the green eyed Witch argued, only to squeak in pain as her father reached down and pinched her cheek in a tiny little hand, tugging it harshly. Bianchi helpfully translated, completely verbatim, for the rest of the Guardians so they would know why Reborn – who was usually so gentlemanly to females – had suddenly become harsh to her.

"_It __is __our __problem __because __you __are __my __daughter. __You __are __Family. __And __Family __take __care __of __their __own,_" the tiny hitman told her flatly, releasing her cheek. Ariah glowered at him, rubbing her now red cheek. Her face was distinctly mutinous.

"_No, __this __is __my __problem __Dad,_" she refused yet again. The fact that she actually called him 'dad' was probably the only reason he didn't pinch her again. "_I __can't __let __you __get __involved, __if __you __do, __they'll __only __target __you __as __well. __You'll __die._" At this point she gave Hermione a dirty look. "_If __I __hadn't __known __she __would __follow __and __kick __my __ass, __I __would __have __tried __leaving __Hermione __and __Ron __as __well._"

"_You __need __all __the __help __you __can __get,_" sniffed Hermione haughtily, folding her arms.

Ariah merely stuck her tongue out.

"Reborn's right, Ariah-chan," Tsuna stated calmly, not noticing how Reborn's eyes narrowed at the familiar form of address his student used as he translated. Before now, he had only ever called Sasagawa Kyoko with the -chan suffix. "You're my friend, I don't want you to get hurt."

"I **EXTREEEMELY**agree with Sawada!" Ryohei roared, immediately breaking the mood and causing both Ariah and Hermione to nearly launch themselves clean out of their seats with how badly they jumped. "Ariah-san is a girl and girls shouldn't be forced to fight **EXTREMELY** for their lives! Let it **EXTREMELY** to us!" he bellowed, jumping to his feet, punching repeatedly at the air in excitement. "I shall **EXTREMELY** Duel these Death Eaters with my Boxing!"

Before Ryohei could continue, Hermione whipped out her wand and flicked it at him. Silencing the over enthusiastic teenager and attaching him to the floor with a heavy duty Sticking Charm. All his shouting was giving her a headache and she could rapidly see Harry beginning to lose what little tenuous hold on her good mood she actually had in the face of her hormone imbalances.

The Gryffindor was tense like a wound spring, her hands shaking, knuckles white with how tightly she was clenching them. Swallowing and _gently_, oh so very gently, she picked her father up from her shoulder and got to her feet, setting in down where she had once sat. Hermione immediately covered her ears as she caught the expression on her best friend's face. Lily's infamous temper was about to make itself known.

"_YOU __CAN'T __EVEN __DEAL __WITH __YOUR __OWN __PROBLEMS!_" the sixteen year old bellowed, making the Guardians almost jump out of their skin. "_WHAT __MAKES __YOU __THINK __YOU'RE __EVEN __HALF __WAY __CAPABLE __OF __HANDLING __MY __OWN __FOR __ME? __YOU __THINK __YOU __CAN __DO __WHAT __THE __GREATEST __WIZARDS __CAN'T? __YOU __THINK __A __GROUP __OF __HALF-COCKED __MUGGLE __TEENAGERS __IN __SECONDARY __SCHOOL __CAN __HANDLE __A __DARK __LORD __WHO'S __BEEN __TERRORISING __AN __ENTIRE __GOVERNMENT __FOR __CLOSE __TO __TWENTY __YEARS?_" she screamed at Ryohei who had abruptly leaned back as far away as the Sticking Charm on his ass allowed him, looking utterly terrified in the face of feminine wrath he had never experienced before in his life. "_THIS __ISN'T __A __GAME! __PEOPLE __ARE __DYING! __HAVE __DIED! __AND __YOU'RE __STANDING __THERE __TALKING __ABOUT __TAKING __ON __PSYCHOPATHIC __MURDERERS __WITH __BOXING? __WHAT __IS __YOUR __MENTAL __**DEFECT!**_"

Reborn frowned, "_This __is __no __time __to __be __throwing __a __tantrum, __Ariah. __They __are __trying __to __help. __We __all __are_," he scolded sharply, half knowing that her anger would immediately be turned onto him and hoping that she would calm down. The Guardians all looked stunned and confused, they couldn't understand a damn thing as Bianchi hadn't been able to translate, too startled and then horrified to do anything.

She turned to him, green eyes spitting fire, "_I __DIDN'T __ASK __FOR __YOUR __HELP!_" she shouted. "_EVERYONE __WHO __HELPS __ENDS __UP __DEAD __OR __DYING! __ITS __JUST __A __MATTER __OF __TIME!_" She was crying now, memories of Cedric's face staring up at her from the grass of that goddamn graveyard, still looking confused and a little worried, entirely uncomprehending of his own death. Her mother's last words, screaming in her ears, the silver spectre, not even a ghost, rising from a black Wand, smiling gently at her, proudly, her voice which sounded so sweet and yet so far away telling her that she was proud of her. Her father heroically giving his life to try and buy time for his wife and child to escape. His spectre rising from the same wand, hair sticking up at odd angles, smiling so warmly and yet so sadly. Sirius...

"_I __don't __want __to __see __anyone __else __die_," she whispered before turning and running from the room, she didn't notice or care as she ran out of the house in her socks, the fabric immediately becoming water logged as she did so.

She didn't notice Gokudera chasing her, having quickly pushed Tsuna and Hermione back into their seats and taken off after her, pausing only for the briefest of seconds to stamp onto his shoes.

Silence reigned in the living room as everyone sat and digested what Bianchi had shakily translated for them – Hibari had long left them to their own devices, he had other concerns right now and unlike the Herbivores he paid attention in class and was quite fluent in English. Reborn was now glaring at Hermione, intending on intimidating some answers out of her but the girl was proving that she was a lot more stubborn than a woman had a right to be. Clearly his daughter was a bad influence if the stony look on her face was any indication.

Ryohei was thoroughly chastened as he realised just how thoughtless and hurtful his attitude had been. He didn't completely understand but he knew that to her, this wasn't a game and if he treated it as one then he would die. Like other people she'd seen. Yamamoto was watching the windows for Gokudera's return, he had wanted to chase the distraught girl as well but he couldn't speak English well enough to do anything beyond upset her further.

Tsuna was staring down at his sock clad feet in turmoil.

He should have known. He had _seen_ Ariah's nightmares, the anguish and pain on her face as she slept, how she glanced at every window and door when she entered a room, made sure Hermione was between her and whatever she deemed as a threat. It was all obvious now that he knew.

"_Who __died?_" asked Reborn after he grew tired of trying to guilt the girl into revealing more.

She sighed and collapsed back into her seat, "_Who __didn't?_" she asked bitterly, "_Her __parents, __yes __she __remembers __their __deaths. __Her __godfather, __only __two __months __ago __actually. __A __classmate __who __I __was __quite __certain __was __something __of __an __older __brother, __or __at __least __someone __he __respected __a __great __deal. __I __don't __know __who __else __but... __there __are __more. __She __can __see __through __the __eyes __of __V-Voldemort __when __she __sleeps __so __anyone __he __killed __she... __saw..._" The Gryffindor trailed off, pale and queasy looking.

The room was heavy and silent as the Guardians wondered just how they were going to help their friend with a problem she was so adamant not to involve them in.

_**000**_

By the time Ariah had stopped running, it was raining and it was dark as she stood panting at a water embankment god only knew where. She stared down at the rushing water, cold and numb, her feet were hurting and she was fairly sure she'd stubbed her toe pretty badly a while ago judging by the stinging throbbing pain she could now feel through her filthy soaking wet socks.

She shook her head and sat down on the wet grass, heedless to the still hammering rain. She was British, she was used to this. She hugged her knees to her chest as her stomach made itself painfully known, cramping and grinding as though she had her own personal blender installed within her small intestine.

Gokudera slowed to a panting stop as he finally caught up, seeing her on the embankment and, shivering despite himself, sitting down as well. She glanced at him briefly and grimaced before turning away, guilt quite plain on her features.

They sat in silence, watching the water rush by, feeling the rain and shivering.

"_Do __you __want __to __talk __about __it?_" the Italian asked finally at length. She shifted, drawing in on herself as if in pain and shuddered violently.

"_There's __not __much __to __say,_" she replied quietly, almost inaudibly over the rain but Gokudera was straining to hear her never the less. He leaned back with a thoughtful hum as he stared up at the storm clouds, it had been fairly cloudy all day after the storm last night, they must've been going through a wet patch he decided, blinking away rain droplets that got into his eyes.

"_You __can __say __anything __you __like,_" he told her at last, "_I'm __here __to __listen, __not __judge._"

She made a sound of disbelief in the back of her throat, "_Judging __seems __to __be __the __most __popular __thing __people __do __to __me. __First __the __Wizarding __World __for __the __whole __Voldemort __thing, the Dursleys for having Magic, __and __now __you __guys, __now __Dad, __because __I'm __a __girl __he __thinks __I __can't __handle __it_," she hissed, glaring down at the still gushing river spitefully.

Having a sister like Bianchi, Gokudera knew more than a few girls who bristled like angry cats thrown in baths when someone insinuated they were incapable based on their gender. The problem here was that she really WAS incapable. She said so herself, however, they were even more so and more likely to die than her. "_I __don't __think __its __that. __I __think __he'd __rather __you __just __didn't __have __to. __Parents __always __want __to __protect __their __children, __even __if __they __don't __want __it,_" he pointed out as delicately as he could.

Ariah slumped, pressing her eyes against her knees, "_I __know,_" she whispered. "_I __know __but... __I __don't __want __him __to __protect __me. __People __who __protect __me __die. __Is __it __selfish __of __me __to __want __him __to __live? __Even __if __it __means __I __don't?_" she asked, her voice beginning to break a little as her emotions began to creep up again. She swallowed hard and forced them down, focusing on the feeling of the mud beneath her feet, the rain that was currently running down her back and the sound of the river and Gokudera's breathing.

He scratched at his water-logged hair, "_I __guess __so. __But, __Ariah-san, __he __feels __exactly __the __same __way._"

Smiling a little exasperatedly at how clumsy and awkward the new family were with their emotions he shifted and slung an arm over the girl's shoulder, drawing her into a hug. "_Family __look __out __for __their __own. __I'm __sorry __but __you're __stuck __with __us __now __and __we're __not __going __to __let __you __go, __even __if __the __Grim __Reaper __himself __comes __for __you._"

_**000**_

**And End Chapter 8. **

**Whew, messy, messy emotional Chapter but I really want to strengthen the bonds between the Guardians and Ariah/Hermione. In case people wonder why Reborn didn't go running out – he may be able to keep up with Tsuna when he's running around but unless Tsuna's in his Dying Will he's slower than I am. Ariah's a lot faster and he wouldn't be able to catch up. Not to mention that in his experience with women (Notice how I stress women and not teenage girls with abandonment and attachment issues) that they need time to cool off after a screaming match like the one they just had.**

**Gokudera's just smart enough to know that this isn't the case and that Ariah really needs an unbiased ear right now. Tsuna, bless 'im, can't speak a word of English and Hermione's way too opinionated to do her any good right now. Ariah would just get more upset.**

Those of you interested... I've posted some pictures on my DeviantART. Just some rough sketches but you'll enjoy them. I promise. (Um, its on a mature filter for boobies, sorry. XDDD;;


	9. Chapter 9

**WINTERTIDE**

_**000**_

**CHAPTER NINE**

Ronald Weasley knew a lot more than he let on as he sat scowling in the corner of the Hallway of the Burrow, unlike the '_adults_' downstairs who were all running around like chickens with their heads cut off, _he_ trusted his friends. Making a sound of disgust in the back of his throat he got to his feet, ignoring the frigid glare his younger sister shot him for his apparent lack of care for Harry's disappearance. He deigned not respond to her as he heard her mutter resentfully about Phlegm and being too young to know what was going on. You could have stripped dragon scale with how acid her words were.

Ron liked to think he was a good friend, a good brother, but he was coming to realise that... well, he couldn't be both. Not in a situation like this.

He knew Harry, his past, the things he didn't say. Ron may act like an oblivious twit the majority of the time but he did notice Harry and Hermione and he _worried_ for them, especially Harry. The scrawny streak of raw nerves and sinew was his bestmate, the one who rescued his sister, who saved his life, saved his dad, who would walk through hell-fire for him, who he _knew_ would give him half the Gold in his Vaults if he didn't know that he wouldn't accept it. Harry who had no concept of self-preservation when faced with other people in danger.

It was a secret he would take with him to his dying day but... Ron had very nearly ended up in Slytherin that September first evening when the Sorting Hat descended upon his head.

His ambition to stand above his brothers, to make something of himself, childish desires to get enough money to roll in and buy whatever he wanted, his cunning in Chess and Strategy... The Hat had laughed secretively in his ear telling him that he was Slytherin's ideal, cunning in all the ways it mattered with room to grow and the ambition to do well for himself, but only well enough to succeed and not get greedy and power hungry. Yes, Ronald Weasley was one of Slytherin's Favourite Students. But. The stones to do what was needed when it was needed, to step up to the plate no matter how terrified he was and _get __the __job __done_ pulled Gryffindor into favour, his friendship with Harry whom he desperately did not wish to lose, his family who would be horrified, his brothers whom he loved yet feared would turn nasty... The Hat deemed Gryffindor the safer option for his mental and emotional well being. He had not told a soul and whenever the subject of Slytherin's arose, he snarled viciously, defensively, bristled like a cat presented to water.

Everything about Harry... didn't add up.

Ron knew about setting people up, leading them on, manipulating them into the ideal position for the attack to be launched at the opportune moment. He sighed as he entered his room, it had undergone something of a change that year, the orange was gone, replaced with a slightly less headache inducing shade than neon, his bed had been pushed against the far wall instead of occupying the middle of the room. The broken furniture had been chucked, Ron himself breaking it apart and using bricks filched from the construction site down the road to make shelves out of the remaining planks of wood. His trunk was stowed safely under his bed, his school books stacked neatly on shelves in order of subject and year/difficulty, the carpets were clean and all his useless knickknacks had been sorted and kept or chucked depending on how he felt. The window was open allowing the warm summer breeze to refresh the air inside, his curtains were wide open allowing his room to be filled with light. It was a surprisingly large room, he was shocked to discover he actually had a desk, now currently at the end of his bed and next to the window with Pig's Cage sat closest to the window covered with his maroon dress-robes so the little owl could sleep comfortably.

His room had never been tidier.

The Gryffindor sat down at his desk, staring down at the sheets of paper he had laid out in front of him. All of them were about Harry, all the information he could remember or find about his friend, written down in rough form and then sorted into timeframes with reference numbers. He had seen Hermione doing rough drafts of homework essays like this and while he _hated_ homework, this was about Harry so he _had_ to do it, and the bushy haired witch's methods were just as efficient and effective as she herself.

What he was looking at painted a _very_ grim picture of his bestfriend's circumstances and Ron's trust in Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix was crumbling.

Since day one, _since __day __one_, Harry had been conditioned and prepared for something. At the Dursleys he was emotionally and mentally abused and manipulated, at Hogwarts he was intentionally sabotaged, their whole year was according to what Bill told him of his years at Hogwarts, he was tested and tortured every year. Ron could see it now, he hadn't before, it never crossed his mind because he thought he had gone through everything exactly the same way as Harry had, that was foolish to believe and selfish. He could see that.

The red head gathered his papers up and carefully arranged them to be hidden within his Monster Book of Monsters, having found the vicious book to be quite pleasant once enough attention had been paid to it. He told the book to keep the papers safe from everyone that wasn't him and left it to nap on a sunny patch of his desk. It was only a matter of time, he decided, before someone would question him about whether or not he'd heard from Harry. At that point, he would have to make a choice, right now, he would have to make a choice.

His family, or his bestfriend.

Or rather, his baby sister, his teacher, the people his family respected and looked up to, the man he had been taught to love and respect without question since birth... Or his bestfriend.

He got to his feet as he heard a knock on the door.

Truthfully? Truthfully, Harry had not contacted him this summer at all.

Hermione on the other hand? Well, that was a different matter.

He suppressed a smirk as he opened the door to his mother's twisted and grimacing face. "Professor Dumbledore wants to see you," she told her youngest son in a quivering voice, no doubt trying to force back tears as she observed his room and came to the conclusion that he was just as worried and disturbed as she was if he had been that restless to clean up after himself.

Ron nodded, giving his mother a small hug, "Its alright mum, Harry's tough and the Order are looking hard for him. He'll be fine," he assured her, inhaling her warm smell of baking dough and floral perfume as he felt her tremble against him briefly.

She sniffled and took a breath, "You'd best be off, Albus is waiting in the living room. I'll, I'll put some tea on for you." Gently pushing herself away from her son she offered him a watery smile before bustling down the hallway and the stairs.

Out of sight, he smirked. Slytherin indeed.

_**000**_

Ariah sneezed and shook her head, dabbing at her slightly runny nose with a wet sleeve, the rain still coming down hard around them, rendering her glasses impossible to see out of. Gokudera was immediately rubbing her arms and panicking about how she must have caught a cold from running around in the rain without her shoes on. She literally had to wrestle the larger boy to prevent him from stripping off his shirt and giving it to her.

"_Its __fine! __Go-__Hayato,_" she corrected herself, a little hesitantly, making him pause, shirt midway up his belly and blinking at her with green eyes that were only a few shades off of her own. She smiled, seeing that she had his attention and he didn't seem upset with her rather familiar term of address. For someone raised in Italy, a lot of his mannerisms were strongly Japanese. "_Hayato, __it __is __alright. __I'm __British, __this __isn't __going __to __give __me __a __cold._" She eyed him speculatively, "_It __might __give __you __one __though, __we __should __probably __get __back_," she decided, resolutely getting to her feet and grabbing him under the arms and hauling the stunned fifteen year old to his feet.

There was a moment of silence before she asked, "_Are __you __alright... __with __me __calling __you __by __your __first __name?_"

She needn't have worried, a split second later she found herself being engulfed in a very wet but very tight hug by a very emotional Storm Guardian, "**Si! ****Si, ****mi ****piace ****davvero!**" he exclaimed, picking her up as he had seen Hermione do earlier and spinning her around with a gleeful laugh. "_Yes! __Please, __yes,_" he said in an understandable language, setting her down and tightening his hold on her briefly before releasing her.

She stumbled slightly and chuckled happily, "_I'm __glad. __It __would __be __rather __strange __calling __my __Uncle __by __his __last __name,_" she teased lightly, making the silver haired teen's eyes widen as he realised, yes, he really actually was related to her because Bianchi had managed to con Reborn-san into marrying her while he slept!

"_But, __you're __older __than __me!_" he squawked in embarrassment. True it was only by a year but she was in fact older.

"_Then __you'd __best __do __as __your __told __and __hurry __up __before __you __catch __a __cold. __C'mon, __I'm __sure __Tsuna __wouldn't __mind __if __you __used __the __shower __or __borrowed __a __set __of __clothes,_" she told him beginning to walk down the street. He spluttered and ran to catch up, slinging an arm around the smaller girl and pulling her tightly against his side, hopefully his body heat would protect her from the worst of the elements.

Elements... That brought something else to Gokudera's mind. No one had explained the Vongola or the Mafia to Hermione _or_ Ariah. He would have to tell Reborn, however, he didn't think now was the right time, the girls were unusually emotional today, Ariah especially and they would need permission from Juudaime and Noveno-sama to reveal all. The only reason they'd gotten away with telling Kyoko-san and Haru-san was because it was in the future when Tsuna was the only leader of the Vongola and thus could act with impunity. Now though...

Reborn looked as though he had several things to say by the time they returned but he never got a chance to say them before Ariah was ushering her uncle towards the bathroom and requesting some clothes, through Bianchi, of Tsuna for him. He sighed and merely watched as it seemed as though everything had calmed down, the Guardians were still a little hair-trigger in case her temper surfaced again, glancing repeatedly at Hermione who seemed to be a very good judge of when to duck and cover and when it was safe. Ariah herself seemed oblivious but that was only how she seemed. She could be frighteningly observant and intuitive when she needed to be.

There were a few more demonstrations of Magic, Hermione knew more charms but Ariah just seemed to breathe magic, she created illusions, conjurations, transfigured a cushion into a kitten which Chrome seemed absolutely enchanted with. She showed them various defensive spells they could watch for, demonstrating a standard Shield Charm and how not much short of one of Ryohei's Cannon attacks could break it in one strike when it was freshly cast by someone of her power or above. Hermione's shield charms were much weaker and she sheepishly admitted she was a fair bit stronger than the average witch or wizard her age. Which made the Guardians look at Ariah in shock as she conjured butterflies for Lambo and I-pin to chase, all of them wondering just how powerful she really was.

Then Nana came home and the magical hi-jinx had to stop, the group had agreed subconsciously to protect the kindly woman from these things they got tangled up in, allowing her the peace of mind she needed to sleep at night.

_**000**_

Shimon Middle School, hm?

It looked as though there were going to be new Transfer Students at Namimori due to the Earthquake that had taken place during their return from the future last week. It felt like it was even further away, even to Reborn but the fact remained that the population was still a little leery of earthquakes, thus explaining the new students. There should have been roughly seven new students according to the Administration Office, still, for only seven students to transfer to this area... the others must have been divvied up around various schools.

Still, a little pang of paranoia stung his insides, instincts he never failed to pay attention to were ringing faintly with the knowledge that again, something big was on its way and Tsuna, as usual, was going to be in the middle of it. Why couldn't he have been less troublesome, like Dino? Ah well, it made life interesting the assassin decided with a smirk.

At least he wouldn't have to worry about Ariah and Miss Granger should Shimon prove to be a hazard. They had been rather insistent regarding getting Ariah's abilities in check, hence their current absence. The two girls had gone to the unmapped area of the mountains that Reborn had taken both Tsuna and Dino to earlier in the year, Reborn supposed they would be alright by themselves. The only reason Dino and Tsuna had so much difficulties was because he was having entirely too much fun screwing with them, without his interference, it should be a fairly easy and simple expedition.

The Assassin chuckled as he hopped to his feet, time to tell Dame-Tsuna the good news.

He was going to inherit the title of Vongola Decimo in a week. Preparations were needed.

_**000**_

Hermione glared skywards, she should have expected this, she really, really should have.

It had been a _long, __long_ time since Harry James Potter, or rather Ariah Serafino, had been skybound and the book-lover had no intention of catching a lift with the maniac. She could see the tiny pin-prick form of her bestfriend screaming through the air with all the force of a bullet doing all sorts of twists and turns, dives, loops and swirls.

There had even been one heart stopping moment when broom and rider became disconnected, her bestfriend freefalling before summoning said broom back into hand. If the Gryffindor hadn't been known that her bestfriend was literally _born_ to fly, she would have been more worried. As it was, Ariah's flying abilities had only improved. Hermione's mind flashed back to Viktor and knew that should the two fly against each other now, he would lose and no one could claim otherwise, not even the most die hard of fans. It was as if Ariah had wings bared upon her back, invisible to all eyes but there all the same.

Even now Hermione could hear her laughter carried on the wind and thanked her lucky stars that these mountains were Unplottable due to the near-by Magic School. They would be undisturbed.

Thankfully she had possessed the forethought to give Bianchi one of the DA coins, making it capable of punching out a simple message so that they could prevent Reborn from driving himself mad with worry over his daughter. Hermione dreaded to think how the poor man was going to deal with her going away to Hogwarts, especially with everything he now knew. And that was just the watered down version they had all given to their parents. Bad, but not as bad as it really, _really_ was.

Golden sparks lighting up the air let her know that Ariah had found a good campsite. Smiling slightly, she shifted her weight and started jogging. She had a surprise in her little bottomless bag that she was fairly certain her friend was going to enjoy. If they actually made any progress with it then they could both help Ron when they got back.

"What do you think?" Ariah asked, arms spread out, her face practically glowing even as her hair stuck up at all odd angles looking distinctly windswept and now with a random leaf sticking out of it where she had flown through a tree. Hermione refrained from giggling and instead gave their soon to be base camp a thorough eyeballing.

A small river a fair distance away, a little ridge that would give them some protection, thick trees and thorny thickets on both sides and good solid ground that was clear of undergrowth and grass. She nodded decisively and happily.

"Perfect," she declared, reaching into her bag and removing one of the magical collapsing tents and expanding it with a flick of her wand, chuckling at the appreciative look Ariah gave her as they both ducked inside and got themselves settled in.

Before too long, the girls were sat at the kitchen table with mugs of hot chocolate, parchment, ink, quills and books out in front of them, discussing quite seriously what their next steps would be.

"Defence is a must," Hermione stated, writing down several key points of the subject, "We'll need to work on casting, aim, speed, knowledge base and reflexes."

"Add physical defence onto that as well. I want more than one avenue of attack and I know that I'm capable of it now," the green eyed Gryffindor stated, clenching a fist. Hermione nodded and made a note. "You're better than me when it comes to Warding, you should focus on that. You've got the knowledge of Ancient Runes and Arithmancy to back it up which means you could go into Spell Crafting as well, I'd look into that if I were you."

"I've already made a start," the bushy haired witch said with a small grin, "Nothing concrete but I've already started work on a spell that uses magic to physically enhance the caster. Its a derivative of the old Norse and Scottish War Chants. There was surprisingly powerful Magic in them when evoked right."

Ariah nodded with a grin, "Come up with some good elemental based spells too, ones that we won't have to aim. It'd be pretty awesome to just point at a Death Eater and then have the attack come from a different angle. Like a stone spear jutting up beneath their feet or a fork of lightning from above them," she suggested with growing excitement. Hermione laughed as she noted the ideas down on a separate piece of paper, nodding fondly at the other girl's suggestions. The mood then sobered up, drastically, "I'm going to need to do a little studying on Dark Magic too," Ariah admitted, an anxious look on her face, "Would you... Spot for me while I do it? I don't want anything to suck me in. I only need to know how far he's delved and how I can counter it."

There was no doubt just who she was referring to and to the Gryffindor, she could easily see the logic in her friend's choice and she equally felt reassured by her honesty and her request to be watched while doing it. Dark Magic was a disturbing thing, it changed a person, twisted them from the soul outwards and finally poisoned their magic and then their personality. By the time their personalities go through a twisted change, it was already too late, they were corrupt right down to the core. Hence why so many Dark Lords were killed instead of arrested, Grindelwald was the only one who had not been killed because he did not use the Dark Arts. Not a single Unforgivable had passed through his Wand, which made him all the more frightening in the History Books, he didn't _need_ to use Magic to make something like World War 2 happen.

She nodded solemnly, "Of course I will Harry. I would have demanded to anyway," she told him primly as she rummaged for another book, "We should also look into using Potions in combat, either as Catalysts for certain spells or as a nasty surprise for those who may not have the same level of magical power as who they're facing," she continued as if the potentially hazardous subject of Dark Magic hadn't been brought up.

Ariah grinned in relief before reapplying herself to the conversation, "Agreed. We should also look at Wizarding Law. The Pureblood faction have already got moles in almost every Department they deem worth it, they're probably already pushing Laws through, we'll need to figure out how to counter-act them or at least use the loopholes in them."

They continued like that long into the night, making plans, decisions, plotting. They passed a message back to Reborn before heading to bed. Tomorrow was going to be the first day of Boot Camp and as Ariah stared at the ceiling of her room, she found herself grinning fiercely.

She was changing, she could feel it in her body, mind and magic.

This was the next step in the evolution. Voldemort wouldn't know what hit him by the time she got through his his sorry pale arse.

_**000**_

**And chapter finished! **

**The Rabid Plotkitten could not be ignored. I apologise my friends. I planned to update Firefly but Wintertide just kept clawing at my brain and demanding attention.**

**Moving onto the Shimon Arc in the next chapter, this was a very difficult Arc for me. I was tempted to by-pass it all together but then I remembered... this will be a fantastic opportunity to show just what Ariah can do. **

**A little bit of Ron introspection. I hope you enjoyed it, I wanted to make him more than a two dimensional character or just a stereotypical Gryffindor Sidekick. Hopefully this gave him some much deserved depth.**

**Can you tell who he chose in the end?**


	10. Chapter 10

**WINTERTIDE**

_**000**_

**CHAPTER TEN**

Day One:

**Hermione** – Weather good. Training well. Ariah V-good aim, now improving. Looking into defensive warding myself. Take care.

**Bianchi** – Lovely. Day good. Reborn excited – Tsuna inherits family business soon. Big ceremony. You are invited.

Day Two:

**Hermione** – Yay. Weather V-windy. Ariah flying, crazy girl. Making potions – learn Japanese better.

**Bianchi** – Everyone has made friends with transfer students. Tsuna and Lambo esp. Hayato excited over seeing first UMA.

Day Three:

**Hermione**** –** Weather good. Potions done – working hard to learn. Am researching Curse Breaking. Ariah tearing up environment.

Day Four:

**Hermione** – Weather raining. More research. Ariah looking into Elementals, good with fire and wind. Curse Breaking V. Difficult.

Day Five:

**Hermione**** –** Is all good? No responses – concerned. Training going well.

**Ariah ****-** Dad, you and I need to talk when I get back.

Day Six:

**Bianchi**** –** Return home now. Yamamoto critical in hospital, trouble is brewing.

"HARRY!"

_**000**_

For Hermione, the last six days had been desperately needed and rather enjoyable. She wasn't a great fan of '_roughing __it_' so to speak, but Wizarding Tents had eased the whole unpleasant affair a great deal, and with no one to dictate her actions the Muggleborn had enjoyed the last few days of living as she desired. She opened her books first thing in the morning, Ariah taking care of breakfast with an ease that would have looked out of place on a teenage boy, she read and practised magic throughout the day, brewing potions as and when she desired. The Mountain, being so close to a magic school, was magically rich and thus teaming with plant-life and occasionally creatures essential to various potions, not to mention Ariah had easily given up the remainder of her Potions Kit for the other girl to absorb into her own collection, claiming that she would restock back in England. In all honesty, Hermione had _adored_ the last few days, especially when working practical magic along with Ariah who had not lost her flare for teaching, nor her skill in defensive magic.

For her friend, Ariah had been excelling, leaps and bounds. She would fly a way from the tent and then wreck unholy destruction on the most barran patch of land she could find, the scorches and scars in the earth were quite something. She had come back to the tent more than once with her wand smoking with how much power she had channelled and how quickly she'd done it. Flying was her naughty addiction, out here in the mountains no one could see her or tell her off for it, it became a game of hers to fly as fast as she could and try to stun birds, it worked on improving her aim and reactions as she flew down and caught it before reviving the startled creature and allowing it to take flight again. Her physical training mostly involved running from one side of the mountain to the other in varying ways, never stopping, always trying to do it as quickly as possible. It got boring so she started including a little... style. Instead of jumping she flipped, for instance. A little psychological manipulation could go a long way in a fight, even if it was just _looking_ like you were fully capable of taking them apart without even breaking a nail.

Still, aside from Duelling Hermione and occasionally getting into a fight with what _had_ to be a rather runtish Oni, Ariah had yet to have a proper fight. So she was still largely unsure of what she could do should she _really_ have to punch it. At least now she had a better idea of her limits though. She would need a lot longer than six days to really get the measure of her strength.

But she wouldn't be getting those extra days.

Hermione had never ridden on a broom with Harry, her fear of heights only really allowed her to watch her bestfriend defy death and gravity, never join him. It was only the idea of innocent and sorely wronged Sirius Black getting the Dementor's Kiss that spurred her into climbing astride Buckbeak and squeezing her eyes shut, trusting Harry not to kill her as they flew to his rescue. She still hated heights and flying – but Ariah had no intention of being considerate of that today and Hermione knew it as she mounted the Firebolt, tucking the Invisibility Cloak around herself, clutching her bottomless bag tightly to her chest. In it was their tent and all their other supplies with the exception of the broom, cloak and their wands. Hedwig hooted from her spot between Ariah's legs. They needed to go faster than the Snowy could fly, but they also needed her help to find Yamamoto, hence the fact she was going to hitch a free ride.

"Hold tighter," Ariah ordered gruffly, knowing that if Hermione didn't the force of their take-off would tear her clean off the back of the broom. She felt her friend shift and press in much tighter, "Good. Don't scream."

That was all the warning she got before they shot into the air like a champagne cork at a much higher velocity. Hermione's skin _burned_ and she nearly got flung off with the force of the wind in her face and gravity sucking at her back. Ariah didn't seem to notice as she adjusted the cloak around them and told Hedwig to lead the way.

Worry gnawed at the girls' insides as they flew back to Namimori, Hedwig directing them to the hospital as they streaked overhead. Hermione didn't think she could breathe, never mind Ariah's suicidal flying, what if Yamamoto had been attacked by the Death Eaters? Would a muggle hospital even be able to help him? Had they found out about Ariah and Reborn? Or was it even Death Eaters? Was it just an honest accident? Something more sinister? Was it to do with the Vongola? Reborn was still under the mistaken impression hat neither of them had the slightest idea of his Underground connections, but Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley had _made_ it their business to know such secrets from the age of eleven onwards. And in all honesty, he hadn't been at all subtle about it. It didn't take much digging or much difficulty to piece everything together and find out the truth and how it related to Reborn and Tsuna and his friends.

But that was the thing, so far there had been no indication of trouble brewing, and both of them were very good at pinpointing that moment when it began, so, if there was nothing brewing when they arrived... who was it that attacked Yamamoto? Death Eaters or someone against the Vongola?

This was the problem of having been hunted and attacked your whole life, you immediately looked deeper into things that may or may not have anything to do with what was happening – it could have just been a car accident, they didn't _know_ what had happened just yet. The Muggleborn Witch was becoming more and more distressed over this situation as they finally swooped into a steep landing amidst the small stretch of green around the hospital.

The sterile reek of rubber gloves, bleach and sickness struck Ariah's nose full belt as the two girls ran inside, past a pair of distinctly European men – the one with the prosthetic arm giving a small start of alarm at the sight of the dark haired girl as the two burst into the Emergency Waiting room. Tsuna and his friends plus a group of unfamiliar teenagers all jumped to their feet, postures defensive and alarmed as the two Witches strode in with hard faces.

"Ariah! Maioni! What are you two doing here?" Gokudera blurted in surprise, hastily waving down the unfamiliar group of teenagers in black uniforms.

"Bianchi told us about Yamamoto," Ariah explained in fluent, if accented, Japanese making everyone look at her in shock. A few days ago she could barely string a sentence together!

"We came as quickly as possible," Hermione further told them, shakily taking a seat, her face ashen. "Ariah drives like a lunatic. Give me a minute, if I talk too much I may throw up," she complained, taking deep and steady breaths as she gripped the seating beneath her. It was less of a surprise for them to hear Hermione now fluent in Japanese given how she already knew Italian to a fairly competent degree.

Ariah gave her an apologetic glance, "What happened?" she asked, drawing all eyes back to her in an instant.

For a moment, it seemed as if no one knew how to answer her until Gokudera spoke, recognising that same authority that Reborn cloaked himself with now resting on the young woman's shoulders. "Earlier today, Yamamoto was attacked by person or persons unknown in the locker rooms at School. Mizuno Kaoru had been with him earlier but left to go home," he explained, scrubbing a hand through his hair in anxious frustration.

The Witch nodded thoughtfully, "Would you say this is a simple attack on Yamamoto as an individual or something connected to the Vongola?" she asked calmly.

For Gokudera, it was reflex to answer her, never thinking twice about the words that just left her mouth. The other members of Tsuna's guardians though, all jerked and looked at her in shock. "Definitely a Vongola attack. Someone took out the World Renowned Assassination Famiglia from Russia, the Giegues'. Reborn believes that they're after Tsuna due to his Inheritance Ceremony," the silver haired teenager explained, glaring angrily at the thought of anyone getting in the way of the Juudaime's rightful assension to the position of Decimo.

"H-how do you know about the Vongola?" Chrome asked, wringing her fingers as she peered at the other woman.

She gave the skittish teenager a smile, "We figured it out. Hermione and I have been digging these sorts of things up since we were eleven, it wasn't difficult and in all honesty, I'm a little thankful that this wasn't done by Death Eaters. Hermione, think you can brew up some medicine?" Ariah asked, looking over her shoulder at the much steadier looking brunette.

She swallowed and nodded, "I've patched you up often enough. I'll need to know the full extent of his injuries, possibly get a blood sample just in case I have to use some of the more heavy duty ones but anything short of dismemberment or actual death I can manage if I leech off you for the actual application work," she explained.

"Excuse me," a frosty feminine voice interrupted, causing the two girls and the other guardians in the room to look over at the woman in the black school uniform. She was frowning rather suspiciously at the two girls, specifically at Hermione. "But who are you? This is not a conversation for girlfriends," she snipped.

"Ariah is my daughter and Hermione is her Right Hand," a familiar and at this point in time, much welcome voice declared from the ground level.

"Dad, I take it you went to the scene?" the black haired girl asked, dismissing the unknown woman who bristled almost comically at the blatant lack of concern.

He nodded, giving her a brief visual check, she was more comfortable in her skin now, no more fidgeting or defensive posture. Add to that she had figured out about the Vongola, she really was his daughter to get to the bottom of the matter with even less resources than he and on so few hints. "I did and I can tell you now that we _can_ and we _will_ find the culprit and all who are connected to him or her," the Sun Arcobaleno declared.

"So you found a clue?" Ryohei and Gokudera exclaimed, hope kindling upon their features.

"I did." Was it Hermione's imagination or did Ariah just put herself between the unfamiliar teenagers and herself? "But it will take some time to reveal the culprit, and since this concerns secret information regarding the Vongola, I must ask the Shimon Family to leave," the pint-sized Mafioso requested politely. "Ariah and Hermione as well," he added, glancing apologetically to his daughter who nodded.

"Secret information of Vongola?" the glasses wearing teenager asked, leaning forward in interest.

"If you let us in on it, we may be able to help," the serious dark haired woman pointed out.

"Of course if we need help we will ask for it. But for now we need to have a little privacy. You should be careful as well, you may be attacked," he warned, watching as the young woman's eyes narrowed briefly.

"Understood," she intoned.

"Ariah?" Reborn prompted, glancing to his daughter who rummaging in her pocket. A moment later, she withdrew a coin, similar to the messenger ones that he had been Bianchi communicating with Hermione using.

"Give us a call when you're finished. Forward Yamamoto's injuries and we can get started on the medicine," she told him firmly. Reborn nodded, watching as his daughter slung an arm around her bestfriend and guided her out, one eye on the Shimon family. He felt something inside of him tighten at her suspicion, he trusted his instincts but to him, Enma and his Guardians reminded him of Tsuna back before he started coming into himself. Had Ariah noticed something different? He shook the thought off, Yamamoto was his main concern right now, not his daughter's thoughts and opinions, she was too new the Mafia world to be of much use in this beyond healing him up and providing an extra pair of eyes.

Outside, one of the Shimon boys, the one with the glasses, turned to them with what he obviously thought was a comforting smile, "Don't you worry your pretty heads over Yamamoto Takeshi, he's a tough guy," he told them shifting behind Rauji to be closer, unaware of how Ariah's eyes narrowed as she ensured Hermione was on her otherside.

"Regardless of how tough he is, he is in the hands of medical professionals," the dark haired girl retorted sharply, "Thus in the best hands possible." An obvious dig at Hermione who bristled like Crookshanks, if it weren't for Ariah's grip on her shoulder and the tense warning that threaded through her whole arm, she would have given that arrogant little Miss such a talking to. Had she really been like this when she was younger? Such a stickler for the rules? Thank _god_ Ron and Harry got their claws into her when they did.

"As you say, the best hands possible," Ariah confirmed, giving Hermione's shoulder another more encouraging squeeze that went unnoticed by all present.

"So," the glasses wearing boy began, grinning even wider, "Are either of you taken or are you together?" he asked, making Ariah's eyes narrow dangerously and Hermione to take on an expression more reminiscent of Professor McGonagall than anyone else.

Aoba Koyo flinched and immediately back-peddled, angry girls were something he didn't like dealing with. Not after all the broken bones that Adelheid had given him over the years.

"What is your relationship to Sawada Tsunayoshi?" the serious girl demanded, breaking up what she was quite certain was a dispute she would not have stood for on school grounds.

Ariah gave her a poisonous look, "None of your business," she retorted before pulling Hermione along.

"_What's __wrong? __You're __not __usually __that __hostile __to __people. __Do __you __think __they're __connected __to __Yamamoto's __attack?_" Hermione whispered once they were a fair distance away, making their way out of the Hospital to begin the treck back to the Sawada residence.

The Gryffindor sighed heavily, "_I'm __not __sure, __on __the __one __hand __they __feel __like __Tsuna __and __his __friends, __but __on __the __other, __it __feels __as __though __they're __on __the __flip-side, __the __darker __half._" She gave her friend a humourless smile, "_The __Draco __Malfoy __to __Tsuna's __Harry __Potter_." There seemed to be such a sense of _anger_, tightly leashed violence and an almost air of guilt that lingered around them, she had seen them tense and radiate alarm when Hermione admitted to being able to heal Yamamoto. The big one with the regent hair-style had been watching her from the corner of his eye ever since, hands flexing and it made Ariah nervous to be around them.

"_Harry __Potter_," a male voice greeted from behind the two, making both tense and whip around, Wands drawn so fast they nearly clipped the old man as he back-peddled, holding his hands out defensively with an almost exasperated chuckle. He was a very large man, broad shouldered and rather mature, his hair was fairly long, hanging past his shoulders in strands of silver and white brown hair, he wore a familiar dark suit that the two Witches had come to associate with Reborn with the only unique difference being that his left arm looked as though it had been taken from one of the Hogwarts' Suits of Armour. "M_y __apologies __ladies, __I __had __not __meant __to __startle __you. __Please, __I __am __Coyote __Nougat, __a __colleague __of __Reborn's, __I __mean __no __harm,_" he told them soothingly.

Hesitantly, Hermione stowed her Wand but Ariah kept her's outstretched, "_Prove __it_," she commanded, green eyes narrowed on the older man who couldn't stop himself from smiling approvingly of her attitude, though perhaps not her lack of respect.

"_Ask __me __a __question __then, __something __only __a __friend __of __Reborn's __could __answer,_" he requested, remaining as still as possible. This was Reborn's daughter alright and he didn't want to run the risk of her being exactly like her father and shooting first only to torture the answers out of him later.

She clearly gave it some thought, "_What __is __his __real __name?_" she asked quietly.

A good choice, very few people knew that name, in fact, Coyote Nougat was willing to bet that only the Sun Arcobalenos', the Ninth and his Guardians and the Head of CEDEF knew that name outside of these two girls. "_Renato __Serafino,_" he answered, a moment later, the girl slowly removed her Wand. But didn't stow it.

"_How __do __you __know __the __name Harry Potter?_" the girl asked suspiciously.

"_I __am __a __Squib __of __the __Zabini __Pureblood __Family._" Small world, imagine running into one of your school mate's disowned cousins this far away on the otherside of the planet. Hermione gasped, clearly recognising the name. Coyote nodded in acknowledgement, "_I __am __currently __trying __to __sort __out __the __mess __of __Custody __Issues __Reborn __and __the __Dursleys' __have __caused. __When __you __return __to __England, __it __would __be __beneficial __if __you __got __into __contact __with __the __Goblins __to __expedite __everything_."

"_What __do __you __mean, __'_custody issues'_? __My __Aunt __and __Uncle __are __my __Guardians._"

Coyote shook his head, "_Unfortunately __no, __that __is __not __the __case. __They __never __adopted __you, __there __is __no __kind __of __formal __paperwork __legally __placing __you __within __their __care. __It __is __a __case __of __Kidnapping. __Not __to __mention, __ah, __there __having __been __an _accident," the Storm Guardian put delicately. He could smell Reborn and Shamal's fingerprints all over it, but the girl didn't need to know and sometimes it was often better to leave women in the dark about such ugly things. "_There __was __a __fire, __I __don't __know __the __details __but, __official __sources __claim __it __was __your __cousin __who __accidentally __caused __the __blaze __while __under __the __influence. __There __were __no __survivors._"

Ariah's eyes widened.

No... survivors?

A fire? Dudley '_under __the __influence_', drunk? '_Accidentally_'? No, no, she would think about this later, if what Coyote was saying then the Dursleys were dead and there was nothing she could do to change the fact, however, there was someone dying in the middle of the emergency room and they could do something about it – with enough backing.

"_I'll __speak __with __the __Goblins,_" she declared, taking the old Storm Guardian by surprise, though really he shouldn't have been. Reborn was the type to focus on things he could change rather than wallowing, well, he used to quite enjoy a good wallowing, he spent quite a while doing so when he was first cursed, however now a days he focused on what he could change. "_Before that, __I __need __full __details __of __Takeshi __Yamamoto's __injuries, __access __to __a __Potions __Lab, or just somewhere safe to brew them, __protection __for __the __Brewer_," this was said with a nod to Hermione who was looking a little stunned at how swiftly events were going, "_And __ingredients __if __we __need __them. __You __do __have __Access __to __the __Magic __District __in __Japan, __correct?_" she asked.

"_I __do, __but __I __will __need __someone __with __a __Wand __or __Staff __to __gain __access_," he admitted.

Ariah nodded, "_Hermione's __your __girl. __She'll __know __what __she __needs __to __get __hold __of __as __well._"

"_You're __going __to __attempt __to __heal __Yamamoto __Takeshi __using __Magical __Means?_" Coyote asked suspiciously, the Japanese Ministry wasn't going to be happy with that.

"_He's __signed __the __forms. __He __has __clearance __to __be __aware._" And just like that whatever argument they could possibly have was made invalid. He was aware of their world and their sponsors were clearly not only paying for the ingredients but also brewing the potion themselves, there wasn't a legal leg to stand on.

"_Would __you __like __a __lift __back __to __the __Sawada __Household? __I __believe __Reborn __may __be __a __while __with __Tsuna __and __his __Guardians,_" the Guardian offered.

Ariah shook her head, making Hermione pale, "_We __have __a __Broom __and __an __Invisibility __Cloak. __We'll __manage._"

Coyote nodded, "_Very __well. __I __look __forward __to __seeing __you __at __Tsuna's __Inheritance __Ceremony __the __day __after __tomorrow._"

Given how villains always went for the dramatic, attacked in highly public places, aired their victory and were unable to simply keep their mouths shut, they would make their attack during the Inheritance Ceremony. They would be loud and draw all the attention to themselves and lord their superiority over everyone in the room. The typical Villainous monologue. And when that happened... she would be there.

"_Wouldn't __miss __it._"

_**000**_

**Hey guys, been a while. As for why, this weekend I have just been DEAD. Couldn't even bring myself to watch anime or films. Ended up with a splitting migraine for most of Sunday. And as people on Facebook will know I had an essay all of yesterday (24 hour essays. Receive it at 9:00 in the morning, hand it in at 9:00 the next day). **

**But I finished it today. My only concern is that it seems to have suddenly gone a little too fast. **

**I'm leery of Filler because the last few chapters have felt that way to me, despite how many of my readers telling me that they were essential to character development. **

**Also, yes, I downplayed Ariah's reaction to the Mafia, why? Because that's small fry compared to Magic. That's actually _nothing_in comparison to half the shit she's been through. The killing aspect, well, she's got to kill Voldemort doesn't she? The criminal aspect, I did a small exercise once where I listed every Law Harry broke in the books. I needed three sheets of A4 narrow lined paper. Were it anything other than extenuating circumstances, he'd be in Azkaban. **

**So yeah, Mafia, no problem.**


	11. Chapter 11

**WINTERTIDE**

_**000**_

**Those people interested in the list of Harry's 'Crimes', see the recently posted Springwaters. Its a collection of Deleted Scenes, Non-Canon Scenes, plotbunnies that never made Wintertide, Omakes and alternative pairings. Also fun extras.**

_**000**_

**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

The sun had long since set, the sky overcast and thick with ominous clouds, light spits and spots of rain filling the air and splattering against the windows of the Car as the Tenth Generation of Guardians were driven home. None of them particularly wished to leave Chrome at the gloomy and draughty looking Kokuyo-Land, so Ryohei offered to let her stay over as he knew his sister Kyoko was friends with the rather timid Mist Guardian. Gokudera was dropped off at his flat, the silver haired teenager having to be ushered out of the car due to his constant questions regarding whether or not the Juudaime really didn't need him that evening. By the time they had finally reached the Sawada Residence Lambo was fast asleep on Tsuna's lap and the fifteen year old wasn't much better, his eyes at half-mast as he fought the siren song of sleep and exhaustion. The day had been an utter roller-coaster in terms of emotion and activities. Thankfully though, they had a plan now and tomorrow to take a breather and get their heads on, ready for the confrontation at the Inheritance Ceremony the day after.

The living room lights were on when they pulled to a stop outside and climbed out, Tsuna shivering and waking up a considerable amount with the cold as he shifted his grip on the still slumbering Lambo to shield him a little better from the drizzle. The three quickly made their way inside, keeping quiet as they opened the door and took their shoes off. Reborn could hear Ariah and Hermione talking quietly in the living room, which explained why the lights were on.

"_...__mostly __physical __trauma __and __burns_," Ariah was saying. The two girls were in their nightclothes, shorts and a sports vest for Ariah and a rather conservative nightdress with a lion on it for Hermione, wrapped up in their blankets and sat up to the coffee table, several tomes spread out over the glass surface. Beside Hermione appeared to be a small wooden Pharmacist's cabinet from the Edo Period, several dried plants, leaves, roots and paper packets of seed pods, suspicious but neatly labelled grease proof paper wallets and small glass jars with unknown, decidedly fleshy, substances inside. The green eyed Witch was pointing to a particularly aged looking book, tracing a finger down the incomprehensibly twisting lines of text, "_If __it __were __just __bullet __wounds __then __I __think __a __sufficient __shot __of __Sun __Flames __would __put __him __right. __See __here? __From __the __explanation __it __sounds __like __Cellular __Regeneration __at __its __best, __amongs__t __other __things_," she continued, tapping her finger on the paper.

Reborn gave a small start to hear the words 'Sun Flame' come from her mouth, especially while referencing a book of all things. He had been wondering how she knew of the Vongola, or even how she'd found out about them, the idea that they were known in the Magical World was something of a concern to him. He would have to question her on it. And find out how she managed to learn Japanese in six days!

Hermione was shaking her head as she followed her friend's finger, reading the passage she was pointing at, "_Imagine __what __Mediwizards __could __do __if __they __had __that __skill. __They __could __regrow __the __nerves __of __Cruciatus __Victims. __Neville __could __have __grown __up __with __his __parents_," she exclaimed with a wistful expression.

Ariah laughed, sitting back, "_You __know __Alice __was __my __Godmother, __right? __Neville __and __I __would __have __grown __up __siblings __if __that __were __the __case,_" she pointed out with a grin as Hermione dropped her Quill in surprise.

"_Who __is __Neville?_" Reborn asked, breaking into the conversation as he entered the room, a yawning Tsuna shuffling in after him, Lambo secure and snoozing in his arms. The two girls jolted a little, looking over at him with strained expressions.

"_One __of __our __friends. __I __shared __a __dormitory __with __him __for __five __years,_" Ariah added. And Reborn made a mental note to investigate this Neville, and that Ron person they kept mentioning. "_We're __researching __potions __and __Healing __spells, __did __Coyote __give __you __a __copy __of __Yamamoto's __injuries? __We __need __to __know __what __we're __dealing __with_."

Wordlessly, Reborn reached into his jacket and unfolded the folder he had squirrelled away, all the while wondering just how the girls' knew of Coyote Nougat. Had they spoken to him while in the Hospital?

Accepting the paperwork, Ariah and Hermione quickly began to flip through it, muttering under their breath about the things they were reading. Thankfully, Coyote had already gone through and rewritten some parts into English to ensure that they would understand the full extent of Yamamoto Takeshi's injuries and respond appropriately. Tsuna bit his lip as he returned to the living room having been putting Lambo to bed along with I-pin in his mother and Bianchi's room.

"Is there anything you can do?" he asked the girls, sitting down on the sofa and watching them with anxious eyes.

It was Ariah who nodded, "Yeah, but it won't be easy. According to this information his spine was shattered to a small degree." She looked up at him with a grimace, "We'll have to vanish the broken vertebra and regrow them. It is... painful," she explained rubbing her left arm and wincing as if in memory. Tsuna blinked and stared at her. "The Skellegrow potion tastes pretty bad but it does what it says on the bottle. It'll regrow your missing bones in about eight to twelve hours depending on how many need doing. For me it was my arm, that took around ten hours, by the look of these scans," she said, holding one up to the light to get a better look at it, "I'd say he would be under the potion for about nine."

"Eight," Hermione corrected, flipping through her book. "The vertebra are shaped to accommodate the spinal cord," she explained almost absently as she turned to her Potions kit and examined her supplies, "I'm going to need to go to the Apothcary. I need some Shredded Bloomslang and powdered Unicorn horn."

"I thought I had at least half a kilogram of horn," Ariah muttered, leaning over.

"You did. I'm using half of it on the other potions he'll need to take."

Ariah returned to the sheets and gave them another, more thorough examination before returning to her book. Reborn and Tsuna watched on, fascinated as the two girls calmly discussed potions, spells and ingredients to save not only Takeshi's life but also his ability to walk. For Tsuna, it was amazing how calm and in control they were. Were all witches like this? Or was it just a girl thing?

"You two are quite a frightening combination," Reborn stated, an odd smile crossing his lips as the two girls looked up at him in confusion, blinking in sync. "Not only have you managed to learn Japanese in a single week, but you've also managed to unearth information about the Vongola and our Flames." Ariah and Hermione blushed as Tsuna's mouth fell open in shock, they knew? About the Mafia and about the Dying Will Flames? He spluttered as the brunette returned to her books, working furiously, leaving Ariah with the explanations.

"Y-you know?" Tsuna squeaked.

She nodded, "Yeah. It... wasn't that difficult to find out," she explained a little uncomfortably as her father jumped up and got comfortable in her bedding. She smiled a little bemusedly and shifted her blankets to cover him as well, Reborn looked very pleased with this development. Tsuna stomped on the little smidgeon of jealousy he felt, shivering at how Reborn would react if he thought Tsuna had a crush on Ariah, that way... that way only led pain and humiliation.

"And..." Tsuna trailed off, fidgeting and glancing at her from under his fringe, "You're... alright, with that?" he asked timidly. So far, none of his friends had really flipped out over the whole Mafia thing, only Haru had been disapproving and that was mainly because she thought he had dragged Reborn into it, when she finally started taking it seriously she began to come onto him for some reason. He liked Haru, he did, she was a nice girl but it was just so annoying that she had only taken an interest in him because of something stupid like that. He saved her life, yes, but... but that didn't mean anything! He just did what anyone else would have done, really, it was nothing special. He was nervous about how Ariah would respond though, she had only known him for so long and he didn't really have Kyoko-chan's innocent way of looking at the world. He didn't think he could bear it if she was disgusted with him, or Reborn, it would have been horrible if she rejected the Vongola when Reborn was so intertwined with it!

She shifted awkwardly, unaware of Tsuna's thoughts or Reborn's sudden razor-sharp interest in her response.

"I'm not one-hundred percent clear on just what the Vongola do. I know they're a Mafia family that started as a Vigilante group around four-hundred years ago in Italy, opposing the ruling nobility and protecting the Commoners, homeless and downtrodden. Apart from that, we're more aware of the Flames," she explained, picking up one of her books. "See?" she asked, showing a moving picture of the – of the _Primo!_ He was in the middle of some kind of fight, a Dying Will of Sky cresting his forehead and glowing on his hands. Oh Kami! They really did look alike, only the Primo was clearly European with different coloured hair, but, give Tsuna blond hair and go into Hyper Dying Will and they would be near enough identical! "This book is all about Hereditary Magic and incidents of Muggles using Magic or coming into contact with Supernatural things. I dug it up as a reference to make sure that the Potions we're going to give to Yamamoto won't do anything unusual to him."

Reborn craned his head up, "Ariah, the Vongola specialise in a lot of things, they have a very bloody history. I myself am the Ninth's most trusted assassin," he explained to her and Tsuna didn't imagine it when her whole body froze. Hermione tensed and ducked down into her book, as if expecting another blow up.

The living room was silent as they allowed the green eyed girl to digest this news, Tsuna cringed unhappily, already feeling sick to his stomach while Reborn was trying to hide his own discomfort in the face of her possible disapproval. It was hard for him, he was unused to feeling ashamed of himself or concerned for how others perceived him, at his age it meant nothing beyond getting left alone which was how he liked it. But this, this was different. He didn't like the thought of his daughter's scorn or hatred or disgust.

"I trust you."

"Eh?" Tsuna squeaked, eyes widening.

Ariah gave them a small, slightly strained smile, "I trust you. Both of you." She shook her head, "I don't know the circumstances of how it happened, but I trust you. I've... I've..." she swallowed as she trailed off. "I'm no better than either of you, really. I've... I've killed and _tortured __before_," she admitted, her voice dropping to a barely audiable whisper. "I can't blame you for it when I don't know the circumstances and... and I refuse to feel guilty for my actions." She shook her head almost violently.

Deciding that moving on with the subject would be better appreciated, Tsuna asked, "How did you learn Japanese so quickly anyway?" in one embarrassingly desperate blurt.

Reborn rolled his eyes but smiled as he felt Ariah relax with the change in subject.

"Oh that. The Mountains we went to are Unplottable, it basically means that someone's cast some pretty advanced Magic to make the place non-existent on any maps. '_A __place __that __cannot __be __found __unless __by __those __who __know __where __it __is_', I think. The near-by magic school was probably responsible, either way there's a lot of good Potion ingredients there. Hermione and I cooked up a batch of Wit Sharpening and Memory Comprehension Potions. We both read and reread and then reread _again_ a Japanese Phrase Book and a Dictionary so we could learn. Some things are still a little shaky but right now, we're still under the influence so we're learning a lot just by listening into conversations," she explained idly as she marked her page in the book regarding the Dying Will Flames and set it down on the table, snuggling back into her blankets. Tsuna had to refrain from smiling at the unexpectedly cute sight it made. Then what she said actually hit him.

"Wow, school must be really easy when you take those," he exclaimed in jealousy.

"Ah-hahaha, its generally a not-done thing," she admitted, scratching the back of her head. "I'm not sure why, maybe its because of how difficult it is to get the ingredients or how long it takes to brew, or maybe because the Ravenclaws would rip their spleens out for cheating, its just not done."

"Ravenclaw?" Reborn asked before Tsuna could comment.

"We told you about the four houses, right? We're sorted in First Year according to our personality traits. Ravenclaw are for the people who like knowledge and books," she explained with a small smile, "To them, school is everything."

"So, Granger-san is a Ravenclaw?" Tsuna asked curiously.

Ariah shook her head as Hermione made a '_hrrmf_'ing sound, she heard that entirely too often from the 'Claws in the D.A. "No, she's in Gryffindor with me. House of the Brave and Noble, or in laymans terms, the reckless and stubborn," she explained with a giggle. "Hermione's really smart but when it comes down to it, she's got the balls of a Hungarian Horntail."

Hermione blushed vibrantly as they looked at her in admiration.

"Hufflepuff was a good option too," she admitted sheepishly making Ariah laugh.

"I can see it," she said with a grin before looking at Tsuna who was trying to hide a yawn. "Go to bed Tsuna," she told him, making him jump and bite his tongue with a squeak, looking like a kitten caught messing the carpets. "You too, Dad. Today's been entirely too long for _both_ of you," she declared, scooping her father up and getting to her feet.

"Huh – but," Tsuna spluttered as the girl hauled him up to his feet and gently began to usher him to the stairs.

"No buts, you're dead on your feet and its gone midnight. Go to bed. Hermione and I will still be here in the morning," she told him firmly following him up the stairs, continuing to push gently against the small of his back to keep him moving. Honestly, was this how Hermione or Madam Pomfrey felt when trying to get him to rest? That strange mix of exasperation and fondness? Leaving Tsuna to grab his night things and scamper out to the bathroom to get changed away from her, she set her father down on the floor and kissed his cheek.

"Good Night, Ariah," he told her with a smile.

"Night, Dad."

_**000**_

The next morning saw the kitchen completely taken over by the two witches.

Nana had been rightfully startled to see her kitchen commandeered by the two girls but when they explained their '_herbal __medicine __for __Yamamoto_', she was near enough enchanted and wanted to know how to do so herself. Ariah spent a couple of minutes explaining a few basics before the older woman kind of drifted off to do other things, losing interest in what was happening in the kitchen. The Gryffindor wondered if perhaps there was something a little wrong with her upstairs but shrugged it off in favour of ingredient preparation.

When it came to Potion brewing, Ariah quite cheerfully bowed out and left that to Hermione, she knew what she was doing, however, Ariah was better at preparing ingredients than her having a much steadier hand with a blade or mortar and pestle. The only time she took a break was to make breakfast for everyone and bring it into the living room where they would be eating their meals until the girls were finished.

Bianchi made a brief appearance, chattering away on her mobile phone, giving Ariah a brief hug before making her way outside again, talking about colours and fabrics as she did so.

Lambo came racing in with explosives and for the first time ever in his young life, Lambo received a telling off to accompany his light spank and was sent to the corner of the living room for five minutes. He cried and wailed and squirmed in place but otherwise didn't move from his place until Ariah came along and gave him a hug, explaining why he had to be punished and assuring him she didn't hate him. All the while Reborn smirked and Hermione giggled, Tsuna blushed red watching them, Yamamoto was right she really would make a good mum. But thinking about Yamamoto was painful and he quickly turned his attention back to his homework.

Hermione left not long later to go and pick up some ingredients from the Magic Quarter with Coyote Nougat as her escort, leaving Ariah in charge of the potions – Lambo noticeably didn't try to keep her company in the kitchen as he sat sniffling slightly on the couch, sucking on a grape flavoured lolly-pop. By the time she returned, the potions were looking good, in adding the last ingredient, she would just have to stew the Skellegrow for two hours and then leave it to cool, the others would have to remain hot until Yamamoto was well enough to drink them. If they cooled they would be useless.

"Mostly done now. We just have to give Yamamoto the Skellegrow and wait for the night, his spine'll be fine come morning and we can move onto the other potions and several spells," the brunette explained to the relief of everyone else. "The potion just needs to stew for two hours before we can give it to him. We'll need to get him into a private room, away from nosy doctors and nurses."

Tsuna chuckled a little anxiously, "Hibari-san has the ear of the Hospital Director, we can ask him," he suggested hesitantly and then blushed vividly at the proud look Reborn shot him. Clearly the little hitman hadn't expected him to remember that little nugget, which of course Tsuna would remember because Hibari had beaten the snot out of him and the director hadn't called him out on it.

Two hours later and they were at the Hospital in a private room, Hibari lurking in the corner with a dark scowl on his face having just kicked the nurses out, Reborn perched upon Tsuna's shoulder while her held Lambo tightly to his chest, the girls taking up flanking positions around Yamamoto's bed. He looked so pale and young in the white linens, hooked up to machines and drips, he was too still and quiet to be Yamamoto. Tsuna took a deep breath and forced his tears down, remembering the vivid scarlet that splashed his body, the open sucking wound in his chest. Yamamoto was strong, he would make it, he would be fine. The girls would make sure of it.

Taking a deep breath and drawing their wands, they got to work. Freezing his body so it wouldn't negatively react to suddenly having part of his spine removed. Moving her wand in complicated patterns Ariah slowly and steadily began to vanish the shattered bone fragments from Yamamoto's back and stomach, healing the shredded muscle and bruised organs as she did so. Sweat dribbled down her cheek as, with her eyes closed, she weaved a tapestry of light around the teenager, her wand moving as if conducting a symphony.

Opposite her, Hermione was working in a similar fashion, repairing much more delicate things such as shredded nerves and capillaries and such. She healed deep organ ruptures and directed Ariah's magic into other sources, controlling it for those very delicate and finicky things that the other girl just didn't have the fine control for just yet.

For those watching, it was incredible. Tsuna's eyes were wide in awe, Lambo was squealing in delight, squirming in his arms. Even Hibari who had, until this point, been largely unaware of magic, found himself visibly stunned with the light show.

And just as quickly as it had started, it was over. Hermione falling to her knees coughing and panting, her wand falling from nerveless fingers as she rested her sweaty forehead against Yamamoto's blessedly cool bedsheets. Ariah caught herself on the edge of the bed, breathing hard, but she seemed a lot better off than Hermione as she pushed herself upright and removed Yamamoto's breathing mask so she could feed him the potion properly.

"Done," the black haired girl said, sitting down heavily on the floor, "He'll be alright come morning. He'll need to take a few more Potions, the Blood Replenisher, bruise balm and such but he'll be right as rain afterwards, minus a little internal bruising that'll take a week to heal." She sighed and tipped her head back, sweaty hair sticking to damp skin as Tsuna came over, "We got lucky, using fresh ingredients makes the potion more potent and the organ bruising wasn't so bad. A lot of healers can't deal with it because they don't have the magic reserves," she gestured at Hermione who was still panting for air, "and Hermione's been my bestfriend for so long she can manipulate my magic just as well as her own if we work in tandem. Not many can say the same."

"So he'll be alright?" Tsuna asked with wide chocolate brown eyes.

Ariah grinned up at him, "Yeah. He'll be fine. All we have to do now is find the one responsible."

_**000**_

**And that's Chapter eleven! hehehehee, Chapter twelve will see the Inheritance ceremony and those responsible for Yamamoto's current condition! **

**You will enjoy it.**


	12. Chapter 12

**WINTERTIDE**

**I hope you guys appreciate this, I've got way too much to do for Uni and instead I'm writing this. **

_**000**_

**CHAPTER TWELVE**

Ariah stared at it with a mixed expression of disgust and horror. "W-why can't I just – " she began only to be cut off by Bianchi who brandished it rather threateningly.

"Do you know why women assassins have a higher percentage of success compared to our male counterparts?" she asked, a small gleam of hilarity filling her eyes, a nasty smirk curling on her lips. One that was making her Step-Daughter sweat a little in terror as she found all avenues of escape blocked from her.

"No," she admitted, fighting to keep her anxiousness out of her voice.

The Cheshire Cat Grin on the older woman's face told her she'd failed. "Its not because we use poisons as Reborn believes. That isn't my _only_ avenue of attack, goodness no, that would be stupid and not a little suicidal." She waved it around a little for emphasis, "We are more successful because we can get in anywhere and bring our weapons _with us!_"

Ariah looked sceptically at her and Bianchi shook her head in a mixture of amusement and disappointment. She set it down and sat beside her daughter – the two of them had commandeered Nana's room in order to get ready for the Inheritance Ceremony. "Sweetheart, I know this is... awkward, to say the least. But trust me on this, no one's going to frisk a lady dressed to the nines and they most certainly aren't going to put their hands on you with Reborn and Tsuna right beside you. But that doesn't mean that anyone without a good pair of eyes won't realise you're armed if you make it obvious. You can hide an anti-tank rifle in one of these, I should know, one of my best friend's did it on our last job. Girl loved everything to do with guns, the bigger the better. Picture a five-foot nothing, curly blonde Swedish girl in Gothic Lolita with a gun three feet bigger than she is slung over one shoulder."

The dark haired girl pulled a face, but at the same time she couldn't deny her step-mother's wisdom, it would be easy to hide her wand and some healing potions while wearing that, especially if she wasn't going to be checked for them like Coyote said everyone else at the party would. Bianchi wrapped an arm around her daughter's shoulder, in the beginning she had some difficulties with the fact she was only a little older than her husband's daughter, but those problems fell by the wayside. Ariah may be old in terms of combat and such, but she had never really experienced family, in that respect, she was so _young_ that there were times when the rosette haired assassin wanted to just... bundle her up in silk and cotton wool, whisk her away from the world and put her in a secret dragon guarded tower where only they could find her. Where no one could hurt her. Cause her nightmares. Or make her cry. She smiled a little wryly at her thoughts as she placed a kiss on the smaller girl's forehead, gently rocking them both. Ariah would never allow it though, Bianchi knew that, just like she knew her foolish but well meaning love would eventually put his foot into it and forget that crying to cage or leash a free spirit would sometimes get him burned.

"Come on, Coyote will be here soon, we have to get you sorted. Hopefully your father will be too tongue tied to try and kick you out of the car," she said, getting to her feet and ushering the girl up as well. Pointedly ignoring the dirty look the teenager shot both her and her outfit.

_**000**_

Coyote Nougat nodded approvingly as he observed the gathered Tenth Generation, looking at them in their suits, their eyes hard and their faces grim with what was to come, they looked like a proper Mafia Famiglia. The familiarity, or rather, the lack of respect, the Decimo fostered between himself and his Guardians frustrated him a little, Coyote was a traditionalist and he didn't approve of Tsuna becoming emotionally attached in the way that he had. It provided enemies of the Vongola with an exploitable weakness. Especially since they were all still children and thus easily manipulated.

"We have rented a castle estate in the country for the ceremony. Security will be tight, only those with an invitation will be allowed onto the scene. Weapons will be collected before the event is underway and only Vongola Guardians will be armed in any way," Coyote explained to the group of teenagers, noting how the young Mist Guardian, a timid young lady who possessed a surprisingly powerful Flame for one so meek, gripped her trident a little more tightly.

"We should head off," Reborn stated from where he was perched upon the Sun Guardian, Sasagawa Ryohei's shoulder along with the infant Lightning Guardian, Bolvino Lambo. "We'll be late if we linger any longer."

Coyote nodded, "When the last of our party arrives, we will head off," he agreed, only just barely being able to repress the twitch of amusement he felt at the look of confusion on the Arcobaleno's face. He was not going to be happy about this, however, Coyote believed him a fool for overlooking such a valuable and _willing_ ally in this endeavour.

"Sorry I kept you waiting," said a female voice, causing the group to turn as one and for the male's collective mouths to fall open at the sight of the sixteen year old as she self consciously made her way down the stairs, Bianchi grinning like a Cheshire cat just behind her.

For a moment, they didn't recognise her. Short black hair was swept up into a gold hair clip, her fringe brushed over the right side of her face, almost obscuring a bright green eye dusted with gold eye-shadow. Clad in a strapless dress of burnished gold that fell to the floor, bicep length black silk gloves and a black choker, Ariah looked nothing like the scruffy nestling that sat herself down in the Sawada Porch to talk to her father for the first time some two weeks ago. Her dress hugged her bust and waist lovingly before gently flaring out, cinching slightly at the back to provide an elegant slight train of fabric. She shuffled a little in her black velvet slippers, folding one arm over her stomach to fiddle with her gloves as she blushed uncomfortably and looked up at them.

"Is this okay, Tsuna?" she asked, clearly very self-conscious. The only small mercy in Ariah's mind over this whole thing was that she had been allowed to wear a pair of bike-shorts under the dress, strapped to her thighs was her Wand and a small Moke-skin pouch of Healing Potions, a few of Bianchi's faster acting poisons and a small hand-gun plus bullets. The Assassin had been right, had she wanted to, Ariah really could have hidden and Anti-Tank Rifle under this and gotten away with it.

Tsuna just gargled at the sight of her, unable to form coherent sentences.

_**000**_

The car journey was awkward for everyone save for Ariah and Reborn who spent most of it arguing before the girl just went silent and pointedly ignored her father as he continued to try and argue only to give up when he realised she wasn't even listening to him anymore. The tiny Assassin was fuming and it made Tsuna highly uncomfortable as he tried not to imagine what would happen when Ariah needed punishing for this. He hoped she didn't get into too much trouble, she only wanted to help them catch the people responsible for hurting Yamamoto, he was as much of a friend to her as he was to them. Yet, he couldn't help but agree with the Acrobaleno a little, he didn't want her getting hurt by getting involved.

Only the Vongola personnel were waiting for them by the time they arrived but as they climbed out of the car, each of them could hear the distant sound of rotary blades in the air and see the black specks of approaching helicopters in the distance. Ryohei gave an appreciative whistle as they retreated across the grounds, eyes flickering around the gardens and of course the castle itself. To Ariah, it would never measure up to Hogwarts, but it wasn't an eyesore at least. Already they could see cars pulling up and men and women in various states of formal clothing climbed out, spilling like black ink across the grounds and swarming like ants around the sugar white of the tables providing champagne and nibbles. Occasionally dotted with vivid splashes of colour as women and wives in beautiful evening dresses swayed through the crowds of professional Mafia like flowers.

Ariah found her eyes lingering on each and everyone of them, even spotting the woman who liked Gothic Lolita that Bianchi had described to her, she was pouting unhappily and glaring at the Vongola staff who were confiscating weapons. Apparently, being female had not saved her from as thorough a search as possible, perhaps it was because she was well known for her gun fetish. A search she had managed to escape, just as Bianchi predicted. Other women though, did not look quite as put out, but Ariah was not blind to a few of the more inexperienced ones who moved differently. She could see at least three hand-to-hand specialists, one women who had hand-guns hidden under her dress attached to her outer thighs, and one woman who had rather cunningly hidden a set of knives in her elaborate hair as just decorative pieces. So, they may not have been Mafia, but they were capable.

A glance at her father proved that he had not noticed. She refrained from snorting at his willingness to ignore what he didn't like when it came to women.

"Wow," Ryohei murmured as a strong wind rolled across the grounds as the helicopters began to land just outside the grounds. "Renting an entire castle..." he trailed off, unable to wrap his brain around the magnificent waste of money the Vongola were willing to use just to impress the other famiglias.

"Its big..." Chrome agreed quietly from Gokudera's side, hugging her trident as she fed her Flames into it, powering the illusion of Yamamoto Takeshi lurking in the back of their group. Ariah tried not to show her discomfort of the alarmingly life-like yet _cold_ feeling illusion behind her and instead shifted closer to Tsuna.

"YAHOO! SAWADA-CHAN!" a cheery voice called, causing the group to turn as one. Jogging towards them in a rather... unique suit was a boy roughly their age, his vivid scarlet hair swept back off his forehead bounced as he came over. "BEEN WELL?" he chirped happily, flashing them the peace sign as he came to a stop in front of Tsuna, positively beaming.

"That's the Candidate for eighth Boss of the Tomasu Family, Naito Longchamp," Gokudera quietly told Tsuna as the cheerful boy came their way.

Tsuna bowed in greeting to the other boy who flushed happily, "I'm happy you still remember me, even though I skipped so much school, Sawada-chan!"

Tsuna laughed a little wryly as he smiled, "I completely forgot," Gokudera admitted, without shame and sounding as though he wished he still could. It did seem like overly cheerful people tended to rub the silver haired teenager the wrong way, Ariah refrained from smiling as she saw Naito-san immediately begin to tease him, calling him Goku-chan and elbowing him playfully.

"Don't call me that!" the teenager snapped but was ignored as the scarlet haired boy turned to their illusion.

"Do your best Yamamoto-chan!" he crowed happily.

"Huh?" 'Yamamoto' blurted cluelessly, grinning at the complete stranger – after all, Chrome had never met him, they didn't attend the same school and judging by the quiet whispering Gokudera was now hissing in her ear, he had... _unique_ tastes in women that wouldn't lead him into even noticing her if he decided to expand his dating pool to her school. She seemed to have realised her mistake because a split second later, 'Yamamoto' was laughing sheepishly and rubbing the back of his head, "Ahh, ah," he tried to say as he chuckled self depreciatingly.

"Got stage fright?" Naito-san asked teasingly, still grinning. Wasn't his face hurting yet, Ariah wondered? "That's not like you!" Oh shit, were they busted, _already?_ "Okay, I'm gunna go say 'hi' to the other Families!" Naito crowed as he turned away from them, waving cheerfully as he jogged off. "Later!"

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, especially Chrome who hugged her tridant even more tightly.

Tsuna smiled encouragingly at her, "Its working, Chrome."

She flushed, "Boss..."

To Ariah, it was a confusing whirlwind of new faces and unique characters and the various threats that prickles at the edges of her awareness like mosquito bites. Dino-san who had been very charming and gentlemanly when Tsuna first introduced them, causing her to flush uncomfortably when he attempted to kiss her hand – only to then scramble backwards as if burned when Gokudera interjected with '_she's Reborn's daughter_', his voice unusually sharp. It would have been funny if not for the very real horror on his face that made her stomach flip uncertainly, was her father really that feared an assassin? Then she found out that, much like Tsuna, Dino-san had been a student of her father and everything suddenly made sense.

The Varia sent her every instinct haywire and it was only Gokudera gently taking her arm that prevented her from getting between the two older men and Tsuna as they pulled him aside. She didn't mind Dino but the silver haired man was armed, his whole arm, it was metal, she could hear the subtle differences when he moved his elbows, the way the fabric scraped against flesh and metal.

And then there was the rest of the Shimon Family suddenly appearing on the scene. She hadn't known they were Mafia when she met them, she just hadn't trusted them entirely. Now though... now though she was even more suspicious. They were carrying a very different air around them now. An anticipatory one.

The only problem was...

She was the only one who noticed.

_**000**_

It was time.

Ariah, due to her relation to Reborn, watched the ceremony begin from her place not too far away from the front, surrounded by so many hard faced older men she would have felt out of place if her attention weren't so focused on Tsuna and the others. She didn't even notice the considering glances she received from a few of them. All she cared about was making her move the moment the enemy was revealed. She'd learnt that much from Voldemort's mistakes – attack hard and fast and whatever you do, don't stop to gloat, take them out before they take you out. Shame he never figured that one out.

She watched as the Noveno, a kindly seeming old man with a bushy mustache and gentle eyes accepted an ornate black box from one of his Guardians and opened it, studying his successor proudly. "I pass this to you, Decimo," he intoned seriously, but it wasn't just Ariah's ears that heard a thousand different meanings behind that single sentence.

Meanings she didn't get to contemplate as an _awful_ high-pitched screeching filled the air, stabbing into her ears like the high-pitched ringing of a TV not tuned properly. Everyone was affected, men dropped to their knees, throwing up as they desperately clamped their hands over their ears to try and blot out the awful, painful noise. Ariah couldn't bare to take her hands away from her ears to reach for her wand as she was almost knocked to the floor by a larger man staggering around in pain, bellowing like a wounded beast as his ear-drums ruptured and dribbled hot red blood between his fingers. She could feel her own ears on that point, even her lungs were vibrating under the high-pitched frequency.

Just at that moment, the walls exploded under the force of the sound vibrations, thankfully it cut the sound and Ariah flung a hand out, wordlessly banishing chunks of brick and plaster away from her and those around her. Her ears still hurt and her brain felt like soup as she struggled towards her father and friends at the front, not even stopping to apologise to a man who was unfortunate to get his hand trodden on as he tried to get to his feet, he didn't notice, or probably could hear her even if she did apologise.

"Tsuna, Dad," she coughed, banishing away some of the smoke as she appeared, "Anyone hurt?" she asked.

"Ninth!" the boy exclaimed, ignoring her, "Are you alright, Ninth?" he asked, scooting closer. Ariah immediately grabbed her wand and knelt down closer upon seeing the blood that seeped out from between the old man's fingers. It looks like something had taken a chunk out of his left arm.

"Its only a scrape," he hastened to assure them.

"Scrapes don't bleed that freely," Ariah retorted, "Move your arm," she told him, already prying his fingers away as she flicked her wand. "_Episkey._" His flesh knitted together almost immediately causing the old man to flinch slightly as the wound grew hot and itchy before fading away completely, leaving unblemished skin behind. "_Tergeo_," she commanded, flicking her Wand again, syphoning off the blood from his clothes before she wordlessly repaired the fabric as well.

It was then Tsuna realised, "Ah! The Sin!" A small ornate phial of suspiciously red and blood-like liquid was shattered on the marble flooring, the red liquid congealing rapidly on the cold floor.

"Seal off the exits!" Noveno commanded, "Don't let anyone escape!"

"We've sealed the Exits. We'll start analysing the security footage now," declared one of the guardians, a young man with a facial tattoo.

"It shouldn't take more than five minutes to find the culprit. Just as planned," a second Guardian said, the scarring on his face twisting slightly with his smirk of grim satisfaction.

"Everything... as planned?" Tsuna parroted in alarm. Ariah frowned, getting to her feet, it was a play. That must mean that the precious 'Sin' that was to be passed on was most likely a fake. She frowned, gripping her wand more tightly as she listened with half an ear to the conversation behind her, eyes flickering around the Hall. If the 'Sin' was a fake, then there was still a chance of the _real_ 'Sin' being under threat.

"It looks like the culprit's motive was to destroy the 'Sin'," her Dad said as he studied the shattered phial and blood smears.

"It seems that way..." said Noveno, his voice trailing away.

"The Vongola Heirloom..." Tsuna lamented guiltily, no doubt thinking its destruction was his fault.

"Do not worry about it, Tsunayoshi-kun. That was a fake, a replica of the real 'Sin' to lure the culprit out," explained the Noveno.

"A fake?"

"The real 'Sin' is safely stored in the Vault in the next room. The Flames that shield it are made out of our seven properties and cannot be broken by any weapon or Dying Will Flame."

Gokudera flushed in admiration, "To have planned this far ahead – you're incredible Ninth!"

"We will catch the culprit, no matter what it takes. I will take responsibility for what happened to Yamamoto-kun," he continued as if the young Storm Guardian hadn't spoken.

"Ninth..." Tsuna murmured, unsure of how to feel about that declaration, relief or guilt.

"B-bad news! The Vault had been broken into!" shouted a male voice from the other doorway.

"What? That's impossible! What about the Shield of Seven Flames?" Everyone was jumping to their feet in alarm.

"Looks like they got through – Wait, someone's still in the room!"

Ariah couldn't see what was going on, everything was going to fast and Ryohei was trying to yank her backwards away from the Vault room. She dug the balls of her feet in and yanked her arm away, she wasn't going to back down just because she was a girl! She was fed up of this bullshit!

"GET DOWN!"

"I've never seen an attack of this level!"

"Who is it?"

Then the smoke began to clear.

"Shimon..." Reborn realised grimly.

"Enma... kun...?"

"We're taking back the 'Sin'," the red head at the front declared, holding up an almost identical phial of red liquid as the one shattered on the floor at their feet. "This blood belongs to the Shimon Family," he said firmly, meeting Tsuna's stunned brown eyes with icy red ones full of nothing but scorn. Ariah didn't know who this was, but given how Bianchi said that everyone had made friends with the Transfer students, she was willing to believe that this was the person who had grown closest to Tsuna. Anger burned in her veins. This... that was cold and unforgivable. Getting close to someone like that and then tearing them apart with a betrayal you'd been planning from the very beginning.

They even looked alike. This Enma had thick messy earth red hair, he was toughly the same height as Tsuna, perhaps a little taller and just as thin. Standing at his sides were familiar and unfamiliar faces, a girl who looked like she was attempting to rip off that Muggle Singer Lavender liked, Lady Gaga, a large boy with a scar on his face, the girl from the hospital, the green haired boy with the glasses, a second boy who wore a hat and possessed a natty little beard and behind them all was the classic delinquent, complete with blond hair in a Regent-quiff.

"What do you mean?" her father asked.

"What... are you talking about?" Tsuna asked, unable to believe what his eyes and ears were telling him.

"As you now know, we came to this ceremony in order to take back the 'Sin'," the black haired girl from the Hospital declared with a smirk. She wore a black uniform, her hair neatly pulled back, everything about her scream cold and in control.

"Your aim was... the 'Sin'?" Gokudera echoed, a frightful scowl beginning to build on his features as he put two and three together. Ariah could feel all the hairs on her arms beginning to rise with the atmosphere in the room.

"That means..." Ryohei began.

Chrome trembled, "No..."

"It couldn't be..." Tsuna denied, his hands fisting, "The ones who attacked Yamamoto..."

"Yes, that would be us," Enma agreed flatly. As if the attempted murder of their friend was nothing more consequential than passing someone on the street. He reached to open the Phial of blood and that was it. More than anyone else in the room, Ariah knew the power of blood, whatever they wanted with the 'Sin' it would not be good.

"_Expelliarmus!_" she shouted, jabbing her wand at the red head, blasting him backwards off his feet and flinging the 'Sin' up into the air.

No one had expected it.

For Reborn, everything went into slow motion the second he realised what was happening. Ariah's determined movement, the way the red streak of light launched Kozato Enma backwards, stealing his breath away. The 'Sin' flying out of his fingers and arcing high into the air.

Enma bounced off Raiju, the large man stumbling back a step as Enma hit the ground, staggering, just about on his feet.

Ariah, one foot braced on Ryohei's back, launching herself into the air. Fingers stretched out to catch the 'Sin' before it struck the ground and shattered.

The Phial stopped in mid-air and with a furious sweep of his arm, Enma flung the girl backwards.

She struck the wall behind them hard enough to crater it.

Blood spitting out from between her lips as she screamed.

_**000**_

**Ain't I a stinker? XDDDDD**


	13. Chapter 13

**WINTERTIDE**

**A small note, before we continue.**

Some people questioned why I chose certain spells in the last chapter. I picked Expelliarmus over Accio for a reason. Expelliarmus not only disarms the opponent of weapons or the focused upon object but it also throws the subject backwards if used with enough force. Ariah was confident she could catch the object as it was thrown to her – as we have seen in OotP, disarmed objects tend to fly towards the Disarmer if done correctly – but she needed time enough to do so with an opponent possessing unknown abilities. Hence why she flung him backwards, Raiju was just sturdier than she expected and Enma recovered faster than intended.

Had this been against a Wizard, it would have been pretty much flawless.

She can't use any of Snape's spells because this is set in the Summer before her Sixth Year, she hasn't found the book yet. XDD Hope this clears a few things up.

_**000**_

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN**

It was like the world had gone grey and cold, everything went silent and slow as Tsuna's eyes widened – the dark haired girl coughing up a mouthful of blood as she struck the wall behind her. Green eyes widening in shock and pain as her dark hair splayed out around her face like a halo. She slumped in the crater of plaster and fell to the ground, eyes falling shut as her broken Wand fell from lax fingers.

"ARIAH!"

Fire exploded from the Vongola Guardians, the room exploded as the five figures launched themselves at the startled intruders. Whatever Enma and his group had been expecting, it wasn't ninety pounds of pissed of Vongola Decimo hurtling towards them faster than a bullet.

Raiju slapped his hands on the ground, his Flame scorching the carpeting before stone, thick and hard from the concrete foundations, shot up in a jagged stone and flint wall in front of them.

They needed time, just a split second. Just a breath!

The wall of stone and flint shuddered with the impact of their attacks, the rage of the Vongola Guardians breaking over the stone like the tides of an ocean, Elemental Fire washing the room with a frightening rainbow-like glow as the Shimon Famiglia huddled together and uncorked the Sin with feverish fingers and an adrenalin soaked blood-streams. This was unexpected, they had counted on Sawada being too unbalanced from their betrayal to act so quickly!

The wall crumbled but it was enough.

Ice streaked the floor and ceiling, spears and icicles shooting down so fast that they shredded Tsuna's jacket – forcing him to jump backwards to avoid the attack. Only to feel his feet get snatched up from the ground as if Gravity was no longer in affect – not like Hermione's levitation charms, this was more uncomfortable and frightening!

Chrome squealed as sand lashed out at her single remaining eye, she crossed her arms in front of her face in frightened startlement as the uncomfortable gritty shards lashed her skin with painful force.

Ryohei, Gokudera, 'Yamamoto' and Hibari were lifted and launched backwards with a narrowing of the red headed Kozato Enma's eyes. Chrome followed not a split second later and the illusion of their Rain Guardian faded like the Mist that created it. All of the Vongola Tenth Generation striking the back wall with varying degrees of roughness, leaving them to stagger to their feet and face their enemies. The seven teenagers with their unique flames and their expressions of malicious superiority and righteous anger.

"How could you?" Tsuna demanded softly as he stared at his once friend with a kind of desperate horror, trying, _trying_, to understand why he was doing this. What was wrong, why he had turned against him? Tsuna had thought he had finally found someone who understood, someone he could rely on to be his friend, someone... someone like him in this crazy messed up Mafia world. But this? "How could you?" he whispered, "We, I, we've never done anything to you! I didn't even know you were part of the Mafia until you told me!"

Ariah wasn't even in the Mafia and they had attacked her!

The red head's eyes flickered, almost as if he were reading the Vongola's mind, before his gaze hardened. "In order to regain our power," he explained flatly. "And take revenge on the Vongola Famiglia."

Ariah growled unhappily from where she had been pulled back against the wall by her father, he was crouched in front of her with Leon transformed within his tiny grasp, one hand on her leg to prevent her from getting up. The dark haired girl grit her teeth against the pain in her ribs, broken, in multiple places actually, she was quite sure one was scratching against her lungs – she could feel her throat rattling with liquid. Lambo wasn't making it easier, clinging to her side and sobbing his little eyes out, she ignored him though, concentrating on healing as much damage as she could. She could see those Shimon guys spinning some fanciful tale about their painful past, about how the Vongola maligned them and treated them like crap, how the rest of the Mafia world followed suit and how somehow, the Primo's betrayal of their founder Cozart was in some way Tsuna's direct fault.

How ridiculous. She spat blood onto the floor at her feet before gently pushing Lambo aside.

They were going to try and kill Tsuna, they were going to destroy everything he cared about and then make him beg for death, like Voldemort, like the Death Eaters, like the Dementors. They would torture him until Death was a release from the pain, from the heartache. And she wasn't going to let that happen. Time to give Hermione's new spell a Trial by Fire – she was going to kick her ass when she found out but there was no time like the present for this!

"_Dómr um dauðan hvern_," she incanted harshly, causing her father's head to snap around.

"No, Ariah!" he barked, but it was too late.

The dark haired girl was back in the fight, too fast to catch, and too unexpected for anyone to react as she twisted through the fangs of ice and broken chunks of wall, something metal glinting in her hand.

Enma felt his blood turn cold when the smaller girl appeared in front of him. The world slowed. She was crouched low to the floor, hands swinging upward, a small, ladies handgun clenched in her black gloved hands, blood glistened scarlet on her lips, dribbling down her chin. Her bottle green eyes, sharp enough to draw blood as she rammed the muzzle of her tiny handgun against the soft flesh of his throat.

Her fingers squeezed the trigger.

"ENMA!"

The shot went wide as thick vines of nettles caught the girl's hands and dragged her to the side.

Aoba's eyes were wide, his chest heaving as his Ring flared with the power of his Forest Flame, that had been close, too close! Enma could have died because they spent too long mocking their enemy!

Ariah lashed out with a foot, nailing the Shimon Decimo in the face with a slipper clad foot – the satisfying crunch of bone beneath her heel was small consolation as the vines of stinging nettles bound her whole body, sliding up under her dress to bind her legs together before she was thrown against the far wall. Adelheid snarling as icicles split the air and pinned her in place.

Enma coughed, spitting blood to the side as he glowered at them from under his scarlet mane. He lifted a hand and Ariah whimpered as the wall beneath her began to crack, her throat visibly pinching.

"Outsiders should stay out of this," he growled, waiting until her eyes fluttered shut and released her, leaving her to slump against the icicles holding her in place.

With a wordless shout of anger, Tsuna lunged forward, the Flames of the Sky engulfing him as he slammed against Enma, the force of the impact sending painful shudders up their forearms as they glared at each other.

"Why Enma? Why would someone like you do this?" the brunet shouted.

"Its your own fault," Enma hissed hatefully, glaring at the fifteen year old. "I watched you. Until I met you, I thought the Vongola Decimo was someone scary and hateful, but he turned out to be someone unexpected and a bit like me. So, I thought you'd be different from the past Vongola bosses... That we might just be able to understand one another – but you..." The red head slapped the Vongola Heir aside, flinging him into the sky and crushing him against the ceiling with the force of his Gravity Flames. Scorn and disgust and betrayal thick within his voice.

Adelheid smirked as she stared up at him, "How weak, Vongola. Your girlfriend put up a better fight than you and she wasn't using any Flames. The blood of the Shimon Rings and the Shimon's first boss Merge together in seven days. In other words, this is only one seventh of what his powers will truly become upon completion."

"This, is only a seventh?" Tsuna breathed, ribs creaking painfully under the force of the other boy's attack. They had all been batted aside so easily, all of them, even Hibari-senpai and Ariah-chan, the two strongest people he knew!

"What's wrong?" Enma gloated coldly, "This is your only chance to defeat me. In a week, you won't even be able to lay a finger on me."

"Ngh!" Cocky asshole! "Shut up!" the brunet snapped angrily, flaring his Flames to fight against the onslaught of power that suddenly exploded from his ex-friend and crushed him into the ceiling with a pain-filled shout.

"TSUNA!" Dino yelled, darting into the room.

"VOOOOOOOI – STOP RIGHT THERE!" roared the silver haired Second in Command of the Varia.

Adelheid sneered and lashed out, these people were Vongola and deserted to die along with them. The girl and her friend were merely friends of the Tenth's, not members of the Mafia, Enma had forbidden them from killing them regardless of their possible abilities to rescue Yamamoto Takeshi – abilities that turned out to be nothing more than baseless bragging. Stupid little girls.

"Outsiders should stay out of it!" she snapped. Icicles screaming through the air and freezing, not even half an inch, away from the vulnerable flesh of the intruder's throats and faces. They quite wisely did not move, nor try to strike out.

"Let's leave Adelheid," Enma commanded, sounding bored. "It looks much too easy to kill them. If we killed them instantaneously, they won't taste the pain the Shimon Family went through," he pointed out softly.

She nodded with an imperious sniff, "You're right. We can kill them anytime," she agreed, stepping forward. "What we need to show them is a living hell."

"I'll take you along too, Chrome," the guy with the glasses and beard chirped happily, scooping the unconscious Mist Guardian up, her ring clattering to the floor with an unnoticed glitter of shattered gem stone. "You and I have date plans!"

"CHROME!" Tsuna called out, panicking, trying to wake her up but the blow to the head she sustained when Enma sent her crashing into the other Guardians was too great. She was the most fragile of them seeing as the majority of her internal organs were made of illusions.

"Tsuna-kun," Enma prompted, staring up at the brunet with an almost unreadable expression. "You had best be more concerned with yourself," he advised quietly before throwing an arm out, magma red Flames engulfing his whole arm before Tsuna _screamed_.

His whole body cratered with the force of Enma's flame, the ceiling shattering beneath him and the Vongola Ring of the Sky... shattering from his very finger.

Adelheid watched him fall to the ground, sprawling in the dirt where he belonged right beside his pathetic Guardians, "Today marks the end of the Vongola and the start of the new Shimon," she told them grandly before turning on heel and following after their silent leader. "Let us return, to our home."

_**000**_

The room was in chaos following the departure of the Shimon Famiglia.

Tsuna and Gokudera pulled Ariah down where the girl slumped in their grasp, gasping for air as her punctured lung caused her to cough up blood at a frightening rate. Tsuna was near enough in tears as he tried to get her to stop moving around, the dark haired girl completely ignoring him as she staggered through the rubble to hand out Healing Potions to the Decimo and Noveno Guardians. Waving off their concerns by saying that she would be fine after a Cup of Tea.

It was only after Reborn gave Coyote such a vicious glare that the man began to sweat in guilt and discomfort – because as the one who brought her here, he just _knew_ that Reborn was going to blame him for her injuries, and take revenge accordingly – that the Squib Zabini walked forward and scooped the dark haired girl up and carted her clean out of the room. She would have fought him and wriggled free if he hadn't jostled her ribs and turned all of her attention into not screaming from the pain.

Grandfather Talbot laughed when he appeared, promising to repair the Vongola Rings and '_The Phoenix Child's Focus_' as he picked up the broken remains of Ariah's wand, gently running wizened old fingers down the holly wood shaft with a chuckle. "Garrick always did do good work," he murmured, a near-enough toothless smile crossing his lips.

"Y-you know about..." Hayato trailed off, his green eyes widening.

"Of course I do. How do you think I've lived this long?" the man cackled as he spirited the Wand away into his pockets, "I taught the little Mageling who created the Child's Focus." He chuckled, "And she is by far the most precious child within our World. That old Goat can try to clip her wings as much as he likes but you can't tame fire or stop the very wind. It will be interesting to see the clashing of their wills."

And with those exceptionally confusing and cryptic words, Talbot shuffled off, muttering under his breath about Primo, Fawkes, the Fates themselves and someone called Perenelle.

_**000**_

It would have barely taken five minutes for Ariah to see to her own injuries but with her father and both Tsuna and Hayato fluttering around her, Lambo crying into her shins while Ryohei attempted to get to her ribs so he could see what he with his Sun Flames could heal – she didn't get much of a chance. She wanted to snap at them to back off, no matter how often she told them she was fine and that she could handle it, they ignored her.

What was worse was that she was finding it very difficult not to feel gratitude toward them for their care. Lambo sobbing into her leg made her feel guilty and yet a little pleased that he obviously cared. Her father was absolutely furious, growling at her under his breath as he went about preparing drinks so they could all calm down. Ryohei had clearly forgotten that his Rings had been taken and without them he was unable to channel his Sun Flame, all he was doing was prodding her ribs and sending almost blinding waves of pain through her body – at least until Hayato noticed and chased him off with extreme prejudice, leaving her to sag against Tsuna's hand on her shoulder.

"Please, just rest," the brunet pleaded, teary-eyed. "You're badly injured!"

She shook her head, "Tsuna, its just a broken rib. Some potions, a spell and I'll be fine. A lot better than you since you _still_ haven't taken the potions I gave you earlier!" she scolded, frowning up at him. He shook his head stubbornly.

"I won't take them, not until you promise me you'll stay here and rest!" he told her earnestly, brown eyes wide and pleading. She pressed her lips together and turned away, ignoring the ever so slight warming of her face. Damnit, Puppy-Dog Eyes! She'd never been able to say no to those eyes, the Creevey brothers practically got away with blue-murder as preteens because she simply could not say no to those eyes! And now Tsuna was pulling that face! With those eyes and the hair and the scrapes and grazes and bruises – he looked like a kicked puppy!

"Tsuna, you're going to need all the help you can get fighting these guys!" she told him seriously, taking a deep breath and coughing slightly, whimpering in pain as she wrapped an arm around her chest. A Wandless Spell had already pulled the rib out of her lung and healed the puncture, however, it was still floating there, broken. She needed her Wand to actually repair it, that kind of delicate spell work was beyond her without the Focus. "From what I can tell, Enma uses Gravity. Push and Pull capabilities, so far it doesn't look like he can use both at the same time. When he threw me aside and caught the Sin I saw it drop a bit before he caught it again. The one with the glasses and the green hair, he used Plants as far as I can tell." She winced at the memory and refrained from scratching furiously at her thighs. He'd used Stinging Nettles to restrain her, if it weren't for her Magic then the chances were she would have gone into shock by this point with how much of the natural chemicals the stings had pumped into her. "The one who took Chrome, he uses sand, I saw him aim for her eyes in the beginning. I don't think he's the type to play by the rules, we'll have to be careful," she told him thoughtfully.

Tsuna actually wanted to cry. He really, really did. Why wouldn't she listen?

"Ariah," he whimpered, noticing how she tensed but didn't quite look at him. His heart sank, she didn't blame him for her injuries did she? "Please, I don't want you getting hurt again. We'll find a way, we always do but -

"No one was ready for today," she cut in, finally looking at him. "You didn't think it would be Shimon, never in your wildest dreams did you imagine a friend would betray you." The words '_Pettigrew_' echoed in her mind and she tried not to let the angry snarl show on her face. "I wasn't expecting the blood to make that much of a difference, though I really should have. Blood is a _very_ powerful magical substance. What I'm trying to say is, today was a disaster but it was no one's fault. We just have to pick ourselves up and move on and fight back as best we can."

A teacup appeared at her knee, "We will discuss this later," Reborn interjected, still scowling frightfully as the girl gratefully accepted the drink. "Along with why you had one of my guns hidden in your garter. Tsuna, take the Potions. We'll need to be at full strength for the when we retaliate." Ariah smiled sheepishly, her cheeks dusting pink as she sipped at her tea. "Gokudera, Sasagawa, sit down, we have much to discuss." A look of disgust was shot at Lambo who was still clinging to his daughter and wailing. One quick hit and he was out.

"Dad!" Ariah scolded. "He's five years old, you could really hurt him doing that!"

"He's one of Tsuna's Guardians, he's tougher than he looks," the Arcobaleno told her dismissively, watching as she scooped the child up with an expression of obvious pain as she pulled her broken ribs and set him on one of the empty couches. He shook his head and turned his attention the the Vongola, he wouldn't have long to wait anyway. "In a short moment, you'll be fighting a crucial battle with Shimon. When that time comes, you'd better be able to fight them without hesitation. Especially you Tsuna," he added, looking at the brunet whose cuts were visibly healing at a rapid rate now that he had taken the Potions. "Think you're up for it?"

Tsuna was silent for a moment, staring down at the carpet. "I... I've been thinking since then," he admitted softly. "But I still can't believe that the Primo did the things that Enma said he had. There must be some kind of misunderstanding. I have to clean things up..." He looked up, face set, "That's why we can't lose!"

Reborn smiled as the boys grinned, confidence restored along with their faith in their Boss, "Looks like you're ready," the Arcobaleno decided with a smirk.

"We'll see if you really are ready," an elderly voice declared as the doors creaked open.

"Talbot-sama!" the Ninth exclaimed, jumping to his feet. Ariah wasn't very far behind as she _felt_ the magic rolling off the old man in waves that were making her light headed and dizzy.

"If your resolution is real," the old man said, giving her a cursory look and a small, secretive smile that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, "Then they should reply to you." On the tray in front of him were a collection of seven jagged crystal weights. Each very stylised and looking much like the Flame their colouring represented.

"Rocks?" Tsuna questioned, confused at them.

Ariah could feel the magic in them, "Its the rings. They've been remade," she realised, getting to her feet in shock. "T-that's... They've been boosted the same way as the Shimon Rings have as well. Somehow. This..." She looked at the old man in shock, "This is Alchemy!"

He laughed, "Indeed it is! Currently, the rings are in their final stage before rebirth, all they need is a push. Here, hand them out," he told the young Witch, handing her each of the stones. She stared down at them in her arms before handing them to each of the Guardians, correctly at that, much to the shock of all those present. "Don't look so shocked. Miss Potter here has very well tuned Magical Senses, especially to Blood Magicks and Alchemy."

She winced and looked up at the old man, there was only one man in all of the Wizarding World who was capable of combining Blood-Magick into Alchemy who was as old as this man's magic felt. "I'm so sorry Mr Flamel. I wasn't able to save your stone."

He waved her apology off, "You really think I would give that old Goat the real deal? No. The so called Philosopher's Stone is nothing more than a myth, a pretty red ruby I made for my dear wife for our hundredth Wedding Anniversary. She hated the damn thing." He cackled as if enjoying a great joke that only he knew the punchline of, which, thinking about it, he probably knew a lot of them. "So she started spreading rumours to try and sell it. The French Minister of Magic at the time found out and well, it all went down-hill from there."

Ariah was fairly sure her jaw was hanging open in shock. She'd... risked her life for an oversized Ruby that he made for his wife – who hadn't given a flying Flobberworm for?

Nicholas Flamel laughed at the dumbstruck look on the faces of all those present, it was always funny to watch people's reactions to the truth. He gestured to the stones, "My job ends here," he told the Vongola Decimo, withholding a smirk as he saw those brown eyes flicker to the still shell-shocked Child of Prophesy beside him. He kept his observations of the unseen to himself. He had a lot more tact than his beloved after all. "The ones to complete the upgrade is you. You must awaken the souls slumbering within the crystals. You will have just one chance, just one. Or the souls will die and fade away. Without a container that has ties to the soul, they cannot remain on this earth.

"If your resolve is weak, the energy you feed them to awaken the souls will be feeble and broken. It will destroy them, and the animals who fight at your side as well."

The weight of expectation made the air heavy in the ornate waiting room.

"You can do it. You will do it." The three boys looked up at the girl with the broken ribs, she was smiling at them with complete, unwavering trust and belief. "We have to rescue Chrome."

Determination flared on all three faces as the stones within their hands lit up, fire and power exploding off them as they shattered. The reborn rings burning as they found a home upon their Master's bodies. A belt-buckle featuring a Leopard on Hayato's waist, a large gothic Roman Numeral for ten slashed in front of it. Bound tightly around Ryohei's left bicep was a bangle featuring a scarred kangaroo's head and a pair of boxing gloves with the same Numeral for ten slashed this time above it. And glinting on Tsuna's middle finger was an armoured ring, a small chain running down to a second ring wrapped around his little finger, a tiny relief of a lion in a helmet set above it with that same Numeral below. A similar light could be seen from the other room where Hibari had locked himself away to avoid the '_Crowding Herbivores_'. He too must have met with success.

Flamel nodded happily, "Good, good, the Rings have chosen forms that best suit your abilities. These upgrades are solely for the Tenth Generation." He turned to the only girl present, "Your wand," he began and Ariah felt her heart sink. "I was not able to repair it. However." Reaching into his cloak, he withdrew a small black velvet box. "I was able to save it. I have never known a Phoenix to part with a flight feather, especially a Primary. Fawkes must have foreseen many a great thing for you to have done such a thing," the old man told her gently as he opened the box.

Inside was a wooden ring made out of holly, wrapped around the wood was a scarlet and gold patterned feather brushed down under a clear varnish. She could feel the magic inside of it humming happily as she reached out.

"Thank you, thank you so much." It fit as she slid it onto her finger, where it belonged.

"Do not thank me, had I not been careless enough to allow Albus a certain Artefact, I would have been able to repair your wand to his former state. He is content in this form though, and I doubt any Ministry or Order member will be able to tell that it is your wand." He smirked at the young lady and gestured for the Vongola Tenth to come over, "Do catch her before she hits the floor, would you?" he told the young man.

Tsuna blinked in complete bewilderment before squawking as the sedatives Reborn had poured into his daughter's tea made her pass out, crumpling where she stood as her magic finally stopped fighting it.

He winced as he felt her ribs move under his arm when he caught her, that had to have hurt. But even more than that, she was going to be _so_ pissed off when they got back!

_**000**_

_Dómr um dauðan hvern:_ The Honours of all the Dead, a line from a Norse War Chant, I couldn't find anything really good for Hermione's Battle Spell.

_**000**_

**Reborn's in DEEP, DEEP trouble when Ariah wakes up. /winces.**

**I hope everyone's enjoyed this chapter, it has been rather difficult churning it out, through no fault of yours, my plotbunnies managed to escape and, well, you know how difficult it is rounding them up again.**


	14. Chapter 14

**WINTERTIDE**

_**000**_

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN**

Sleep was not easy to shake off. It was heavy, cloying and kept trying to suck her back down into comfortable darkness. Her whole body ached in that distant heavy way that she couldn't... seem to muster the awareness to acknowledge, or even feel. Her limbs were heavy and her head felt fuzzy. She lost the fight and faded away again, dimly aware of something small and warm on her cheek.

The second time, she knew something was wrong.

She couldn't feel her body, couldn't move. Her mind felt sluggish, heavy but less woolly than before. The taste in her mouth was musty and foul, she'd been sleeping for some time. That, more than anything, told her that her sleep had not been natural. Having been forced since early childhood to get up and go upon awakening, the difficult struffle into awareness was very telling – and it lacked the telltale pins and needle tingle that a Stunner would have given.

Ariah groaned as she forced her eyes to crack open. A blurry unfamiliar ceiling greeted her and through her drug induced haze, she couldn't even find it within herself to be worried. The bed was warm and soft. She was losing the battle to stay awake. Green eyes slid shut as vaguely familiar smells filled her nose. Sandalwood, wood smoke and Vanilla. Who... who did she know who smelt... smelt like that? She definitely knew someone who smelt like that. It smelt nice.

Sandalwood... Sandalwood... Smoke... Fire... Burning...

She opened her eyes, blinking against the dry gritty feeling of her lids. She was missing something. Inhaling deeply, she grit her teeth and struggled to sit up, her eyes squeezing shut as she not only struggled against the drugs in her system but also the weight of her own body trying to pull her back down.

"Easy, young miss." Unfamiliar hands were suddenly there, catching her under her armpits and pulling her forwards, gently cradling her head. She wrinkled her nose as the smell of expensive aftershave and sweat filled her nose, making it tingle and itchy uncomfortably. She felt herself being propped against a masculine shoulder as her blankets and pillows were arranged and moved. "You must be feeling very groggy and confused," the male voice continued as he began to move her up against them so she would be sitting up comfortably. "**Boss,**" he called over his shoulder in Italian making her cringe a little at the volume of it hammering through her skull like an ice-pick, "**she's awake.**"

She could hear footsteps rapidly coming from somewhere else, a floor below, getting higher and closer. She rolled her head over, feeling rather drunk with the almost boneless movement and how the whole world kind of swayed and swam with the movement, her eyes unable to focus on any one specific thing as a distantly familiar blond man came hurrying through the open doorway. She could hear him talking to the man who had helped her but everything sounded as though it were very far away, underwater almost. She did recognise her surroundings though. The low table and cushions around it, the popular anime posters, the school books and uniform that were discarded on the floor in an abandoned kicked aside pile. This was Tsuna's bedroom.

Dino sighed, running a long fingered hand through his hair, "**He really dosed her up,**" he muttered as he watched her from the corner of his eye.

When Gokudera came pelting into the Great Hall, they had all feared that the Shimon Famiglia had returned to finish the now severely weakened Tenth Generation off. Dino could have sworn his blood ran cold with the very thought of his cute little brother and fellow Reborn-Victim meeting such a horrible end. But then the Storm Guardian broke into a relieved grin at the sight of him and the Boss of the Chiavarone Famiglia knew that it wasn't as grim as his mind was making it out to be. Tsuna needed him to take his young Lady friend home. She had badly injured herself and Reborn had been forced to drug her to keep her from joining them in the fight against the Shimon Famiglia. He had to bite back a snappish retort at Reborn's order, feeling bitter at the lack of trust he was being shown, he didn't like the idea of Tsuna and his kids being forced into such confrontations with such dangerous people. He knew it was all part of the Mafia life but it was a Life that Tsuna had _never_ wanted, one that he was very _ill_ suited for.

His negative feelings over the not very subtle '_This is Vongola's Fight – Stay out of it_' that Reborn had given him died as his cute little brother reluctantly passed him the girl's unconscious body. Fussing slightly and looking Dino in the eye as he pleaded with the other Boss to keep her safe and to be careful of her broken ribs.

Tsuna was trusting him with something a lot more important to him than this whole Shimon confrontation.

"**I can't really blame him.**" Romario shook his head and poured a glass of water from the jug that Sawada Nana had left them when they brought the young Lady in. Thankfully the mother had been more than happy to change the young Lady's clothing and wrap her ribs – she commented on how awful the bruising was but didn't seem worried, apparently Tsuna's fears over broken ribs had been just that. Fears. "**Did you see the way she fought against the Shimon? She's too much like her father. Fighting even at the cost of her own health,**" he snorted as he carefully tipped the glass so the still very drugged girl could drink. Surprisingly, she was very neat and didn't spill the water at all. Awareness was already coming into her eyes. She was a tough one alright.

Dino couldn't really argue with that observation. It would be rather typical for the Arcobaleno's daughter to fight just like him, with her Dying Will and the determination to get the job done regardless of destroying her body. It would be a pleasant kind of revenge for all the hellish training and anguish the Hitman put both him and Tsuna through to have to sit back and watch his own daughter do the exact same thing. Dino knew quite well how Reborn treated girls and women, he was guilty of it as well, but unlike the little Hitman, he wasn't going to blind himself to a girl who could kick him around like a football and look good doing it. Clearly his daughter was one of these people.

"**No, but given how Shimon handled Tsuna they could use all the help they can get,**" the blond stated, unable to keep the edge of bitterness out of his voice.

Romario just laughed, "**You're just upset you weren't invited along.**"

"_I'll fucking __kill__ 'im!_" the girl in the bed suddenly ground out, cutting off whatever reply Dino had for his Right Hand Man's very accurate comment.

There... was no word in the English language that accurately conveyed how furious Ariah was at that moment in time.

She'd been _drugged!_ By her own _father! _She expected something like this from Dumbledore – fuck, she _knew_ the man had drugged her, more than once. Just like she knew Vernon had poured Anti-Freeze into her drinks as a child, just like she knew the one time she'd been taken on a family holiday and gotten lost in the city that her Uncle had abandoned her for the perverts and the criminals. But from her own Dad, who seemed so happy for her to have found him. It... it _hurt_.

"_Hey, hey, calm down!_" Dino told her, paling in alarm as the girl roughly tore the blankets aside and tried to get to her feet. If this had been any other situation and any other girl, he probably would have allowed himself a brief moment to admire the long pale shapely legs that the nightdress Nana had put her in did little to hide, but this was Reborn's daughter, she was badly injured and she was still drugged up to her eyeballs. She shouldn't even be able to move right now.

"_I will not calm down!_" the dark haired girl snarled as she staggered, limbs still rubbery and weak from whatever drugs her father had fed her. Green eyes were clear and bright, she was shaking off the affects of the drugs a _lot_ faster than any of them had expected, or should even be possible. Unbeknownst to Dino, the only reason she hadn't passed out immediately upon the drug hitting her system, or indeed, why it had come on so abruptly and suddenly was because her Magic had been in a constant state of agitation until she received her repaired Wand from Mr Flamel when it calmed down significantly, thus allowing the drug to hit her and hit her _hard_.

Now though, she was _angry_. So very angry that the drug was being _burned_ out of her system by her simmering magic.

Dino exchanged a look with Romario, unsure of how to handle the young Lady's absolute fury as she staggered out of the room, her footsteps becoming surer and more purposeful the faster the drug left her system. To stop her, that would mean having to lay his hands on her, something Dino was exceptionally nervous about because not only Reborn would kick his ass, but he was pretty certain _she_ would do it as well. Not to mention it would be extremely impolite to touch a girl while she wore nothing more than a night-shirt. Did he mention she would kick his ass?

But Tsuna would kick his if he let her get hurt.

"**Damnit!**" the blond growled as he wheeled around and followed her. "_Miss, really, you can't just go gallivanting off after them! Do you even know where they are?_" he demanded catching her around the waist just before she fell head over heels down the stairs. "_You're not even fully recovered,_" he scolded.

"_Let me go!_" she hissed, kicking out.

"_No! Tsuna would never forgive me if you got hurt,_" he told her as he began to haul the younger and worryingly thin and light girl back to his younger brother's room. She didn't make it easy though. He was going to have some truly spectacular bruises on his shins to match the ones on his ribs from her elbows, to say nothing of the split lip he got when she headbutted him.

"_He won't live long enough to regret it!_" she screamed still writhing like a wild-cat.

"**Romario! Give me a hand here!**" he called desperately over his shoulder as a pale hand somehow managed to get into his hair and _pulled_. At the same time a foot found its home, rather violently, in his crotch.

It must have looked rather comical to anyone watching, two grown men having so much trouble with one mere tiny slip of a girl. She punched, kicked, screeched, snarled and thrashed. They tried to restrain her without harming her, grunting and swearing, trying not to touch things that ought not be touched.

But had anyone been watching. They would have realised that the small wooden ring on her right hand was glowing.

_**000**_

She felt a little guilty for Stunning the blond and his friend, they were just doing as they had been asked, but she was in _no_ mood to be considerate right now. They were in the way and she _wasn't_ going to let this shit fly! Tsuna trusted the wrong person. They betrayed him. She wasn't going to let him end up like her parents or Sirius. She wasn't going to give Shimon the chance to move onto Hayato or Lambo. She wasn't going to let them even _touch_ her father. They had already proven themselves capable of murder after Yamamoto – like FUCK she was going to let them touch her boys!

Dressed and roughly cramming her Moke-skin bag full of Healing Potions and other Potion based Weapons and a few of the Weasley Twins' more interesting bits and bobs that they'd left behind in Gryffindor Tower she turned and marched into the garden. "Hedwig?" she called, allowing a small, tight smile to cross her lips as her ever faithful friend fluttered to her arm. Still visibly sleepy due to the daylight hours. "Hedwig, I need a favour of you," she told the owl gently stroking her breast feathers.

The white avian puffed herself up proudly and hooted imperiously, of course, her human didn't even need to ask for her help!

"Hedwig, don't agree until you know what it is," she scolded unhappily.

The blond had been right when he asked her if she knew where Tsuna was, she didn't, but Hedwig could find him quite easily. The problem then was how did she reach him. Her father must have returned briefly because when she went looking her Firebolt was missing and she couldn't find it. Which left Hedwig as her only means of not _only_ finding them but also getting to them. Her first thought had been to use a feather-light charm on herself and have the Owl fly her there, but then she remembered that at that kind of altitude the wind got pretty strong. And while she make have been light, she was large and provided a lot of wind-resistance. It would strain and probably injure poor Hedwig's wings and she didn't want that. Which left pretty much just one option left.

"I'm going to need to... enlarge you," she explained. "Dad hid my Firebolt somewhere or took it with him, I don't know. But I need to not only _find_ him and Tsuna but also get there. If I lighten myself and have you carry me, it'll strain and hurt you because of how much the wind'll pull on me and you. But, if I make you bigger and stronger, you won't get hurt," she explained quickly to the Owl who clicked her beak uncertainly, clearly thinking it over. Hedwig was _very_ smart, she understood what was being asked of her. Ariah had never enlarged her before, she'd done it in class, but never to the scale she was about to attempt, add to that, a teacher had always been on hand to prevent accidents and deflate the animals afterwards. There would be no such help or guiding hand in this endeavour.

Hedwig barked an affirmative. Fluffing herself up and glowering at her human with indignant amber eyes.

Ariah couldn't help but smile wryly. "I guess pets really do take after their owners. Though, I suppose this would be the other way around," she said, resting her forehead against the proud avian's head. "Thank you."

Hedwig hooted and fluttered to the ground, spreading her feet in preparation.

_**000**_

"**We got schooled by a little girl.**"

"**I know.**"

"**Did you see what she hit us with?**"

Dino shook his head, feeling very uncertain and guilty, "**No. But...**" He shifted in his rope bindings, face grimacing. "**I really hope Mrs Sawada shows up soon. I really need to go.**"

Tied together, back to back in the middle of Tsuna's bedroom, the two men sighed and fell quiet. Hopefully Mrs Sawada would come home soon.

_**000**_

Flying with Hedwig was... amazing.

She couldn't describe it! With Buckbeak, the steady beating of his wings, the way they caught under his legs and the way his shoulders dug into his thighs were all just very uncomfortable. Harry was comfortable in the air but he didn't think he could actually trust his safety to the Hippogriff.

With Hedwig, it was very different.

All of her anger fell away as the owl launched herself into the sky. Her great wings beating down at the air as they went higher and higher into the cold. She could feel it whipping at her skin and the wind raking through her hair with a vengence. But none of the discomfort came. The slow rise and fall of Hedwig's wings filled her ears, nothing more than a whisper of air and pressure as they soared. Her back was too broad and her wings set too far forward for her to sit astride, so she lay down and burrowed herself into the soft white down of her owl's back. Fascinated by how warm it felt when she ran her fingers down the white spines of each feather. How they throbbed with blood.

Complete trust.

Even when they went out over the ocean and the wind became harsher and colder, the salty wind beginning to flay her bare skin. A quick transfiguration of her glasses turned them into flight goggles and her hoodie into a fleece lined light jacket which she promptly snuggled into even further as the sun began to set, casting fiery highlights across the sky. It looked like they were flying over an ocean of blood, and all her worries came crashing back.

Her fury returned at the sight of the island and the several very expensive looking ships surrounding it.

She could see the Noveno watching her approach from one of them, his mouth rather unattractively agape as the gargantuan owl swept over head and towards the island.

Hedwig hooted softly, angling her body slightly and Ariah looked down, her eyes narrowing as she spotted them. They were climbing an ancient stair-way heading up and around the mountain. But... Ryohei, the white haired teenager, wasn't with them. So, they had left him behind as well, or had he declined?

"Let's go," she growled and the owl bobbed her head briefly before her wings folded.

Ariah clung to her back, unable to stop the fierce grin that split her face as her blood sang. The wind whistled around them, screaming in her ears as they plunged through the air, straight down at them.

She heard Lambo scream and then Hedwig's wings snapped open and they struck.

_**000**_

Lambo screamed and the three looked up, yelling in horror as something huge, white and _fast_ lunged at them. Then suddenly a blast of air forced them down to their hands and knees as the, whatever it was, spread out massive pure-white and black speckled... wings?

"Hedwig?" Juudaime spluttered, staring agog at the massive white creature that landed with a ground shuddering thud on the stone ahead of them.

Hayato stared and realised, he had seen those markings before. It _was_ Hedwig. And on her back was – oh shit.

The figure casually slid down the monstrously huge owl's back, her clothing and goggles snapping back into their original forms without prompting. But she didn't stop moving.

Hayato's eyes widened as the dark haired girl stormed over, her face _beyond_ livid. He wasn't the only one who paled.

"How dare you," she snarled as she got closer.

"Hiii!" Tsuna eeped as she bore down on them.

"HOW DARE YOU!" she screamed raising a fist, Tsuna squealed and squeezed his eyes shut, arms raised defensively to shield his face from her attack.

It never came.

He cracked an eye open.

She was still there, still livid, fist still raised but... she just couldn't seem to let it fly.

Her face was anguished as she wavered, teeth gritting as her hand twitched but... her eyes were shut as if she remembered something painful.

Tsuna swallowed.

"_DAMNIT!"_ she screamed turning around and kicking a rock so hard it shot off over the cliff and made quite a magnificent splash in the ocean below. "I want to hit you. I want to hit you so _bad_ for what you did to me," she told them angrily. "But I can't, I fucking can't! Goddamnit." If she did, that would make her no better than Vernon who lashed out in anger, lashed out at people who would never defend themselves from him. Because Tsuna wouldn't. He wouldn't fight back or stop her. And she hated him in that moment. She hated him so much she wanted to cry.

"A-ariah," Tsuna muttered, still more than a little terrified but yet also strangely comforted. And now guiltier than ever before in his whole life.

"You shouldn't be here," Reborn told her darkly.

Her whole body stiffened and she turned very slowly to glare at him. Tsuna felt a chill. He never wanted that expression to be turned onto him. "I don't even want to look at you right now," she told her father, her voice shaky with fury. "Don't... don't even talk to me," she warned tightly, the wooden ring around her finger glowing ominously as the trees around them rustled without a breeze and Hedwig, watching from the background, puffed up warningly, clacking her beak warningly.

"This is none of your business, Ariah," the Arcobaleno snapped.

A tree branch exploded, making both Hayato and Tsuna jump. Lambo began to cry.

"It is my business you _bloody git_!" the girl snarled, "It became my business when Tsuna became my friend. It became my business when my Uncle put his life on the line. _It became my fucking business because I won't let this end the same way it did for me!_" she shouted, slipping back into English as her temper got the better of her.

Reborn reached for his gun.

Ariah's ring glowed as she threw up an arm.

"STOP! PLEASE JUST STOP!" Tsuna yelled, jumping between the two. Ariah's ring immediately stopped glowing, Reborn however, didn't lower his gun. "What we did was wrong, Ariah, we know that! But you were so badly injured," he told her, staring at her beseechingly. "We didn't know anything about the Shimon Rings, their powers, just that they wanted to kill us, make us suffer. That meant they would have killed you too. But you just... you just wouldn't step back. You would've gotten hurt and I... I didn't want that," he admitted quietly.

Her face may as well have been carved from stone. Her scowl had yet to even twitch.

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions, Tsuna," she told him harshly and he near enough wilted under the force of her anger. "I've spent most of my life getting drugged one way or another," she growled, causing all of them to sit up in worry. "If it wasn't my Uncle slipping Anti-Freeze into my drinks as a kid, it was my School Teacher spiking my food with Control Potions. But from you guys... I _trusted_ you."

Reborn actually flinched.

This was going downhill far too quickly and it really _wasn't_ the place for it. "Its getting dark," Hayato interjected, "We should set up camp and rest for tomorrow."

"Ariah should go home," Reborn repeated.

"I will kick you over this cliff edge if you say that one more time," the girl growled as she stalked past and picked up the still sobbing Lambo, hugging him tightly and wiping his eyes and nose with a conjured cloth. Hedwig barked in agreement and Reborn, for once in his life, gave up. Shaking his head in defeat he sighed and began to order Tsuna to get some firewood – it would keep whatever scavengers that lived on the island away.

"Here, you can have my sleeping bag tonight," Hayato said, offering his '_niece_' the padded navy blue sleeping bag.

"No, you keep it Hayato," she told him, pushing it back into his hands with a small smile. "I've slept enough," she finished coldly, shooting a glare at Reborn who settled himself down against a small log to keep watch.

_**000**_

**Viola! Hope you guys have enjoyed it.**

**Just a few things, someone made a comment about how Ariah was acting as though Tsuna and his friends can't do anything. Well, this is Harry's special brand of arrogance XDD We see it all the time in canon. But in this case, Tsuna and Co. have kind of brought it upon themselves, she doesn't know about their previous adventures. Add in the fact that they're very weak right now, she's understandably terrified for them and not about to sit back and let them walk into this alone.**

**This IS a plotpoint. **

_Next chapter: _Ariah vs Raiju


	15. Chapter 15

_**000**_

**WINTERTIDE**

_**000**_

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN**

Dinner was a little awkward, Gokudera had only brought enough rations for himself, Tsuna, the stupid cow and Reborn, meaning that Ariah would have to go without food. Reborn, in an attempt to either staunch the girl's wounded pride, make some kind of reparation or just do his fatherly duty, tried to push his own rations onto her. But she unceremoniously dropped them back into his lap as she left the campsite, not speaking a single word as a decidedly much smaller Hedwig hooted softly on her shoulder, golden eyes gleaming.

Reborn sighed in a mixture of frustration and exasperation. He'd seen the signs before now, but, damnit, why did she have to take after him so much?

Twenty minutes later she returned with a net filled with fresh-water fish, a bag filled with wild garlic, myoga ginger, parsnip and wild horse radish. Hedwig was long gone, probably to hunt for her own dinner as the dark haired girl sat down and began to set up her own dinner in silence.

The boys all stared as she set about cleaning, gutting and preparing vegetables and fish for food. "This isn't the first time I've been forced to look for my own food and Potions books are surprisingly informative about foraging," she told them flatly as she continued to de-scale the fish, "So stop staring. If you want some, just _ask_," she said casually throwing the entrails from the fish over her shoulder where a white blur snapped them up in mid-air, Hedwig hooting as she landed and tore into them with nauseating gusto. Tsuna turned a little green in disgust while Lambo squalled about how awesome the girl was.

Reborn just stared at her for a moment and sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

Gokudera however, threw his lot in with her and helped prepare as much of the food as possible, listening to her preparation instructions with an avid ear. One never knew when they would end up in a situation like this, or like when they'd gotten lost on Death Mountain and been forced to fend for themselves. They did get into the craziest shit. The more prepared they were, the better. But sometimes circumstances just didn't let you go home and get some supplies, so being able to forage and find your own was a skill that the Storm Guardian knew would be invaluable and worth more than its weight in gold should the situation call of it. Like right now.

Maybe he could train Uri to catch rabbits in case the Tenth didn't like fish?

By the time preparation had finished, the smell of cooking fish and grilled vegetables filled the air and made more than a few mouths water. Tsuna had managed to get over his nausea in regards to how the food was prepared and was now sniffing the air hopefully and watching the skewers of fish and vegetables with as much intensity as Gokudera and Lambo. The Witch even transfigured plates for them out of near-by rocks so she could get used to the new form of her wand, it seemed less able to do delicate spell-work like this but she'd noticed that the spells didn't come from the wand itself now, but rather her whole hand. Even her finger tips. She supposed she could do more delicate spell-work with her fingers in future, like a pianist or some kind of musician. Hermione would have a better idea of what was possible and what wasn't, if not, she could always ask Hedwig to send a letter and arrange a meeting with Mr. Talbot.

Once everyone had eaten they crawled into their sleeping bags with Ariah taking first watch, reluctantly agreeing to trade sleeping bags with Hayato when it was his turn to take watch. The dark haired girl smiled slightly as she watched them sleep, her Uncle on one side facing toward the fire dead to the world, Tsuna was open mouthed, a thin ribbon of droll making its way down his chin as he breathed quietly, Lambo curled up next to him sharing his sleeping bag. Even her father was suspiciously silent, head down with the brim of his hat shielding his face from the fire, breathing slow and deep.

She watched the fire hypnotically, shivering slightly at the cold that prickled her back and winced a little at the heat that seared her skin in front. Fires at night were a bit of a pain, the ocean breeze around them only made it colder than a mid-summer night should have been.

Green eyes watched as a light brown rabbit hopped onto the scene, nose twitching as it warily hopped towards Tsuna. Or more specifically, Lambo who smelt of good things for a hungry bunny to nibble at. She smiled slightly as a fluffy white bottomed tail wiggled and the rabbit began to hop away, Lambo clambering out of the sleeping bag in order to give chase.

"Lambo?" Tsuna groaned, rolling over as the five-year-old darted off after the small animal.

"I got him," Ariah assured the slowly awakening boys as she hopped over Tsuna's sleeping bag and jogged after the child into the bushes, scooping him up in her arms. "Gotcha, little monst-AAAH!" she screamed as the ground beneath her feet collapsed in. She heard the boys shout after her. Lambo squealed, knotting his tiny hands into her clothing as she wrapped her arms protectively around him. Chances were they would hit water, the question was, would the water be foetid or would it be part of a cave system connected to the ocean? Most island locations like this had some really twisted up cave diving locations. She wasn't sure about her ability to get herself and a five-year-old out of such a situation without equipment. Damnit, why didn't the Ministry teach them to Apparate when they were younger? She knew it was a coming of age thing but did no one think that there might be a chance someone would need it at a younger age?

Before she could reflect further on the matter, an odd light near-enough blinded her and she realised she was still free-falling down to an unforgiving rock surface. Not water then.

Twisting in mid-air, she landed crouched on the ground, feeling the impact shuddering up her body and making even her teeth ache. That had not been a pleasant way to land.

Still, they were alive and in one piece and judging by the echoing yells and sounds from overhead, Tsuna and Hayato had tried to follow and fallen down the same hole. She decided to look around while waiting for them to land but didn't expect to come face to face with a member of Shimon.

Stood in the centre of the strange rock plateau that dominated the crystal encrusted chamber was the huge mountainous teenager Rauji clad in what looked like a kind of chitinous armour. There were no other exits and stalagmites jutted proudly from the ground around them, razor edged glowing crystals growing from them. The sounds of her friends hitting dirt made her turn and stare at the strange rock cocoon behind her where she could see them peering out through the holes.

"Ariah! Rauji!" she heard Tsuna yelp in shock and fear as he realised just who she was in front of.

The large teenager frowned at her, "I had only intended on capturing Lambo," he admitted coarsely, eyes narrowing on the squirming child in her arms. Ariah however was keeping a tight grip on him, ignoring all screaming, pinching and prodding, farts, burps and nose pickings he wiped on her. She wasn't letting the five year old go under any circumstances as she took a few steps backwards, holding him protectively. Rauji's eyes were full of murder, an expression she was familiar with.

"Too bad," she retorted. "You're not getting him," she added in a dark hiss. One with enough venom to make Lambo fall quiet with wide, somewhat frightened eyes as he looked between the girl and his friend.

Now, Lambo wasn't the brightest crayon in the box, he took great pleasure in causing as much difficulty to those around him as possible, especially Ahou-Dera. But this was Ria-neechan and Rauji. Ria-nee was never mean and nasty, not like Ahou-Dera and Reborn, she smelt nice and was cuddly. But now she was angry and scary, hugging him tightly and glaring at Rauji who looked extra-extra scary now. It struck the five year old now how different Ria-nee and Rauji were.

Huge and hulking, Rauji stood opposite the tiny slim figure of the dark haired girl, his short cropped sand coloured hair crowned with a flame of dirty gold, he wore his black school uniform, his jacket discarded to allow the white T-shirt he wore to stretch visibly over his prestigious bulk. White armour, much like carapace, wrapped around his arms, back and stretching like a beetle's shell to frame his stomach. It looked grim to those watching, a true David and Goliath match.

"Wait for me Ariah, Lambo! I'm coming to help you right now!" Ariah heard Tsuna call from the stone cocoon that held him, Hayato and her father prisoner.

"I wouldn't consider breathing that wall over there, if I were you," Rauji admitted, slowly and with intent as his small dark eyes rolled towards the group of three males behind her. Lambo's grip tightened on Ariah's shirt when he felt her tense even more, disquiet and worry beginning to churn his tiny stomach as for the first time in his life he began to sense the atmosphere. "This dome is built such that the ceiling is being held up by the strength of the walls. If you were to break out of there... the dome would fall apart and both Lambo and your girlfriend would be trapped beneath." Tsuna's horrified denial was ignored, Rauji's thick lips curling slightly in malicious amusement as he observed their growing anxiousness and fear. "And the way you came in has already closed up, so just sit there quietly and watch the show."

"Does this mean we can't do a thing?" Hayato roared angrily.

"There is," Ariah stated before Rauji could continue. All eyes landed on her as she turned her back on the Shimon Famiglia member and jumped onto the nearest stalagmite and began to hop her way over to their cocoon. "You can take Lambo," she stated flatly, her hands gripping the thin rock carefully as she passed the quiet boy through the tiny gaps as carefully as she could. Tsuna's terrified brown eyes staring into her own as he gathered up the tiny Lightning Guardian.

"My quarrel is with Vongola," Rauji pointed out with growing irritation, watching as his prey was taken by his traitorous Boss.

Ariah's lip curled as she easily launched herself back onto the main platform with a flex of her legs, landing on a skid that kicked a few pebbles in the larger teen's direction. "And now, its with me," she stated coldly, straightening as she dusted herself off. She lifted the fist that had her wand, feeling it warm against her skin in agreement. "If you think I would sit back and let you murder a child, you're an idiot," she told him coldly.

Rauji remained silent for a time before bowing his head in agreement. Though he had never voiced the thought, he had not been looking forward to hurting Lambo. Lambo who was too young to know the scum that he had fallen in with, better that Rauji not dirty his hands with the blood of an innocent child. The only reason Enma had, after long thought, agreed that he should join his Boss in the Underworld was the fear that he would grow up to become a threat and mercy that he would die with the rest of his Family.

"We will fight one on one then," he agreed and the girl nodded in silent consent. "A sumo match, there is but one rule: if you fall from this stone platform, you lose." He observed the lithe figure of the girl, content in the knowledge that she neither had equipment capable of the Dying Will Flames or the physical strength capable of shifting him in any fashion. However, given her late entrance to the Island, she was most likely unaware of the Vindice and their rules. "Originally, the rules were supposed to be decided as a way to put both fighters' '_Pride_' on the line. My pride is this body which has never lost a single fight," he explained, lifting an arm and revealing that his bulk was no fat as she had originally estimated – his build being not dissimilar to Dudley at fourteen – but in fact muscle of a startling bulk. "And what Enma has granted me so that I may fight for him... the power of Shimon!"

Ariah flinched back as with a roar, fire exploded off of Rauji's frame, hot and uncomfortable, the ground trembling beneath her feet and putting her deeply in mind of a volcano's eruption as her hair was swept up in the discharge of hair and her pupils contracted almost painfully from the light.

"The Flame of the Mountain is just one of the Seven Elements of the Earth. Its '_Pride_' is its explosive power and intensity. And now, from compressing the energy of this Flame..." Rauji trailed off as earth and dust rose up, condensing down, crushing in on itself and then lining up in a glowing halo of power.

Ariah observed, fighting to keep her expression bland as a set of large rock pincers jutted out of the other teenager's jaw, roughly as long as she was from head to foot and wreathed in malicious flame. She could hear Tsuna and Hayato exclaiming over how he now resembled a stag beetle. She could see the resemblance, but having handled the things in Potions' Class, she wasn't intimidated. Though it did explain his armour formation. With the pincers, the resemblance was anything but accidental.

"I can see why you would call this power your Pride," she agreed quietly. It was impressive. His presence was indeed very powerful, enough to give even the Death Eaters of the Inner Circle a pause before their inherent stupidity and arrogance would spur them forward – though with greater caution than they would have done without the miasma of power the bulky teenager wrapped around himself.

"Indeed," the Mountain Guardian demurred. "I do not enjoy fighting women. Should you withdraw -

"No," she refused instantly, her tone leaving absolutely no room for argument or misinterpretation. "In all honesty, I've never given my Pride much thought. Pride was too dangerous growing up, anything I took pleasure in, anything I took pride in was destroyed and thrown aside by my Aunt and Uncle," she admitted candidly, looking at one of the crystals on the ceiling as she gave thought to what she could consider her pride. "Even at school... those things I enjoyed, I wonder if it was because it was what was expected of me, or genuinely something I loved."

Even now, while she knew she loved flying with all her heart... the question was... did she love Quidditch?

All these years. The things she had done, those emotions she felt. How could she trust them? The increased change of her thoughts and opinions, her emotions, it only highlighted how... _wrong_ she felt in Hogwarts. How muted and dull everything seemed. How she found herself acting without reaction, without thought or even emotion in some cases. Compulsion Spells and Potions, disregarded by the Magic Cancelling Potion, had controlled Harry Potter to such a degree that... now she wasn't even sure who she was. She had changed drastically since her change, become less hotheaded, well, less prone to recklessness. Even the way she fought had changed.

The cavern was silent as they waited for her to speak.

"Pride... Once upon a time ago, I used to think that was my school. That it was the first place I considered my home and the place that I would have defended to the death, if only for the people inside. But I know better now. My pride isn't something so fickle or material. It isn't even something I can touch. My friends tease me about it and while I've always tried to deny it... its nothing to be ashamed of, not really.

"My Pride is that no matter what, I will always to the _right_ thing... and not the easy one."

Rauji stared at her, "And you would call the Vongola Primo's betrayal the right thing?" he questioned, voice rumbling with suppressed threat.

Ariah was quiet a moment as she observed him with a cold gaze, "No," she admitted at length. "I would call it one side of the argument and until there is hard evidence... I stand by my friends." Her gaze sharpened as she shifted her weight, "I won't let you murder them in cold blood."

Silence stretched out between them.

"Alright," Rauji finally relented, acknowledging that the girl was set and would not be standing down. Though it made his stomach turn to fight a woman, the knowledge of what would happen if they reached Enma made him feel even worse. He would stop them here. "Let's get this battle started.

"HAKKE-YOI... NOKOTTA!"

The two charged towards one another.

"_Dómr um dauðan hvern_," Ariah whispered.

They clashed.

"CONFRINGO!" Ariah commanded, sliding under the grasping pincers of Rauji's horns, her hand pointing directly at his vulnerable stomach.

Rauji yelled hoarsely in pain as the Blasting Curse impacted his stomach, the rock and stone encasing his feet absorbing most of the force but shattering and sending him flying backwards to the very lip of the platform, vomiting up his dinner from earlier.

She didn't give him a chance to recover.

Ariah lunged forward, skidding forward with a foot swept back to punt the larger teenager clean off the platform.

Rauji swept an arm out and the ground beneath her foot jutted upward, throwing her backwards before she could finish the kick.

She tumbled back, rolling back onto her feet and was forced to leap, cat-like, to the side as a second fang of rock threatened to skewer her. Not very much like a Sumo match but she guessed that anything inside the ring went as long as the winner was decided by throwing the other opponent off the platform.

They paused as they got back to their feet, Rauji now watching her with a much warier eye, nursing his still tender stomach. He didn't know what she'd hit him with but it felt like someone has struck him with all the force of a train. He opened his mouth to speak, taunt her, cut her self confidence down, anything to get her to doubt and weaken and waver.

She never gave him the chance.

One barked word, too foreign for him to understand or even wholly catch, and the rock beside her morphed in front of his stunned eyes.

A jet of vivid fire filled the air with smoke as bronze horns gleamed ominously in the eerie glow of the crystals around them, acid yellow eyes fixing themselves malevolently on the Mountain Guardian of Shimon as, right before his eyes, great leathery wings stretched out and tested the air.

A Hungarian Horntail, perfect down to the sheen of her scales, barely the size of a Shetland Pony but more than enough to cause difficulties to the other teenager, uncoiled and hissed.

The Horntail launched herself at the boy with a hissing roar, fire dribbling out of knife like teeth and narrow jaws.

Right behind the small dragon, Ariah followed in hot, ensuring that Rauji's attention was fixed onto the Transfiguration before she flung as much power into her attack as possible as she skidded right between his legs.

"DEPULSO!"

The Banishing Charm hit him perfectly.

Rauji howled as his feet were blasted out from under him, shooting him clean up and backwards as the dragon opened her red maw and blasted him with scorching flame.

"Finite!"

And vanished, raining dirt and rubble down as the Mountain Guardian struck the ground hard, panting and rolling onto his stomach, realising with start that...

He was off the Platform.

"I win," Ariah declared as she stood above him, looking down with an odd expression on her face. "Are you alright?" she asked, jumping down and taking a step towards him.

He swung a fist, letting it crash into the ground in front of him, startling her into stopping, "I DON'T WANT YOUR PITY!" he roared. "EVEN THOUGH I LOST, SHIMON WON'T LOSE! ENMA AND THE OTHERS WILL AVENGE ME!"

Ariah stared at him, "You... want them to fight?" she asked softly.

Rauji glared at her, "They will break you and the Vongola like eggs," he hissed.

"**THIS BATTLE HAS BEEN SETTLED.**"

Ariah jumped backwards, Wand-Ring glowing as the air behind Rauji misted with black. Cloaked figures with bandaged faces, black chains and rasping, rattling voices that put her in mind of Dementors. She felt a chill creep across her skin and her stomach turned over in fear.

"**THE LOSER IS RAUJI OOYAMA, THE MOUNTAIN GUARDIAN OF SHIMON. THUS, WE SHALL LEAVE BEHIND THE SECOND 'KEY' THAT WAS GIVEN TO US BY GIOTTO AND COZART.** **IT IS THIS.**" A white gloved hand stretched out, a glowing flower in his grasp. One that flared out and filled the room, melting into each of the Guardians.

Whatever it was the light showed them, she wasn't privy to it as they all seemed to blink back to life, light glittering in front of them fading out like melted snow.

Tsuna was pale. "What...? So, the one who suggested Primo to organise a vigilante group that was going to be the Vongola... was the first Shimon... Cozart?" he breathed in confusion.

Rauji shook his head as best the chains around his necks allowed him. "This is impossible. The first Shimon was involved in the creation of the Vongola? Much less to put this high a value on the Primo..."

"Of course!" Hayato exclaimed, full of boisterous pride. "The best person is always chosen as the Vongola Boss!"

Rauji snapped his head over, "Don't be ridiculous!" he snapped, face twisting darkly. "Tsunayoshi Sawada is not as capable as Enma!"

Hayato frowned, "But you were defeated by a fighter of the Vongola," he pointed out, ignoring the dark look he received from Reborn who had been conspicuously silent throughout the whole thing as he observed and thought on his daughter's performance.

"Then I'll ask the girl. Do you think Tsunayoshi Sawada has the makings of a great Boss?" Rauji demanded, looking at the girl who defeated him so soundly.

She stared at him briefly before looking up to the brunet, green boring into brown before a small amused smile lit her face.

"Honestly? No, I can't picture it in the slightest."

"EH?" Tsuna yelped.

"Wha?" Gokudera squawked.

Her smile was warm, "But I wouldn't have it any other way," she admitted shamelessly, snapping her fingers and transfiguring the cocoon that held them into a window. Setting them free. "The Mafia is a cruel and dark place to my understanding. They could do with some light."

Tsuna went bright red.

_**000**_

**I couldn't think of any other, or indeed, any better way of ending this chapter than right here.**

**I hope you guys enjoyed the fight scene. My original plans were to have her simply Stun Rauji and win the fight that way but upon better reading of the Chapter I noticed how they could only win or lose by throwing one another out of the ring. Hence the somewhat extended fight scene.**


	16. Chapter 16

_**000**_

**WINTERTIDE**

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN**

_**000**_

"What confuses me," Ariah stated, once the explanations had happened in the aftermath of Rauji's loss – and it had been a matter of dog piling the young woman to prevent her from attacking the Vindice as they hauled the large teenager away. "Is that if the Vongola have been discriminating against the Shimon since day one, why haven't the Vindice stepped in before? Not to mention that if the Shimon truly had been betrayed, how would their descendants be running around and causing trouble now? Wouldn't the Vongola have wiped them out properly instead of just making life difficult?"

"More and more of the truth is revealed after each match," Reborn explained, "The Primo of both the Vongola and the Shimon apparently safeguarded their memories of the incident with the Vindice's help should their Famiglias ever face one another with hostilities."

Ariah hummed as she hauled a whining Lambo away from Gokudera's bag where he was attempting to rummage around for sweets. The small group had only just managed to get outside when Ariah had sat down and stated that she wanted answers, not only were the Vindice giving off a rather disturbing vibe to her magic senses but that incident where everyone shared the memory was cause for concern, and then there was the talk of prison.

Gokudera looked over at the dark haired girl, "But the Shimon have faced hostility from the Vongola for years, if what they've been saying is right. And there's nothing in their body language that would suggest otherwise, they believe what they're saying is true," he admitted unhappily. He didn't want to think badly of the Noveno, he was a very kindly and wise man who never did anything without reason, he was wholly against throwing the weight of the Vongola name around. He would if he had to, but for bullying a minor Famiglia with no power, it was entirely a different matter. He knew that Juudaime would change everything for the better, like Ariah-chan said, he was the Light of the Mafia world, but that didn't mean he liked the way things were happening now.

"I think it may be based on Blood magic, if anything," Ariah admitted, rubbing her chin. "It's one of the reasons why I was forced to stay with my Aunt and Uncle." She didn't notice the way Reborn smirked, his eyes shadowed. But Tsuna and Gokudera did. "Because my mother used ancient magic to protect me, I had to live with one of her blood relatives in order to maintain that protection. At least, that's what _should_ have happened. Intent is everything. Even though my Aunt was a blood relative, she didn't take me in willingly and held nothing but hostility toward me. Chances are the wards were only established because of my cousin who liked me in a vague baby-kind of way. They would have either died out or been maintained by my own desperate desire to please them as we grew up.

"In this case, it would have to be a case of direct hostilities between blood descendants of the original Founders of each Famiglia. So unless the Heads attacked, the Vindice would remain uninvolved. There is every chance then that the Shimon have indeed been maligned as the Primo passed down the titleship to his... cousin, right? The Second head, Ricardo? But I don't think... agh, Dad, how long did it take you to discover _any_ information on the Shimon?" she asked, speaking directly to him for the first time since she'd arrived. Apparently having something for her brain to chew on had cooled her temper and her hurt enough to work with him – for now.

"Roughly a week within the Vongolas' top secret files," he admitted, shoulders relaxing minutely as she got to her feet, muttering under her breath. Hermione had said once that if Ariah went into Law Enforcement she would have been a true force to reckon with, Reborn could see it now, her mind latched onto things, small details, pieced them together. It was the same way he thought things through when it came to a Hit.

"There's no way," she finally declared, facing them with a scowl on her face. "There is absolutely no way that the Vongola themselves have been responsible for the Shimon's misfortune. Small isolated incidents maybe, possibly, but for the sustained kind of abuse they've been talking about, not possible. Someone in the Vongola had to have known. The only explanation is, someone knew of the Shimon's connection and targeted them under the Vongola's name. But not even the Heads of Vongola knew the about the Shimon connection. Noveno was completely in the dark."

"Hiii, what does that mean?" Tsuna squeaked, looking between the serious faces around him.

"It means, the Shimon turning up now, isn't an accident. That someone, someones, have been picking at them since the Primo's age and waiting for something, the opportune moment. Perhaps for the Shimon rings to be revealed? Unlikely, the graves would have been the first place cracked open had people been _aware_ of them. No, this is something on the Vongola end. Someone's been waiting for something in the Vongola. Something..." She turned to Tsuna, "or someone."

"M-me?" he squawked in terror, blanching.

"Think about it Tsuna," she told him sympathetically, eyes softening slightly. "You're the first person the ring has truly accepted since it was first forged. You're the first of the Vongola Heads with the same beliefs as the man who Founded it. You're the first _direct_ blood descendent who has been a candidate. Who ever did this, was waiting for the Primo's rebirth."

"Why?" Gokudera begged. He didn't like this, Ariah's guess made sense, it made a frightening amount of sense now that he put all the little pieces together and understood what she had been driving at.

"I don't know," she admitted, "Perhaps its the awakened abilities of the rings? They were reforged with the Primo's blood, they were awakened in a way that no other generation of Vongola have ever managed, not even the Primo himself."

"It still doesn't change what we have to do though," Reborn pointed out. The three teenagers and small child looked over at him, "We still need to fight them," he reminded.

Gloom settled over the group. Ariah folding her arms and sighing as she looked out over the ocean, Tsuna staring down as he twisted the Vongola gear around his finger. "It will change how we approach this though," Gokudera admitted quietly. "Now that we know they're being manipulated and that we're being targeted, I don't think we can fight them whole-heartedly anymore. Our position is a lot more dangerous now."

"And they're unlikely to listen to anything we have to say, at that," Ariah agreed.

"Let's continue on. We can't change anything, but we have to keep going. These people are willing to kill. Ariah, how long until Hermione is finished treating Yamamoto?" Reborn asked, looking up at his daughter.

"She should've been done by now. She's likely as not already on her way, but she's not great with a broom and she probably doesn't have Hedwig to guide her like I did," Ariah explained, running a hand through her hair. "Tonight, or tomorrow, maybe. Depends on how good her Scrying is," the dark haired girl decided.

There was almost a collective sigh as they kept walking, Ariah carrying Lambo piggy-back so he wouldn't keep harassing Gokudera's belongings looking for food. It wasn't a bad day for exploring an uncharted island, warm, with a mild breeze, if it weren't for their circumstances, it would have been a pleasant way of wasting the day away. But it was hard to forget the truth. Rauji, Ryohei, and that green haired Shimon boy were all being held prisoner by the Vindice – and even though Timoteo was negotiating for their release, it wasn't going to be happening until after this whole mess was resolved.

"Is – is this a town?" Gokudera spluttered as they crested the hill and came to a stop, overlooking a small valley with a collection of ruined, overgrown, and ancient Italian styled houses, their terracotta red roofs vivid but also dull in the early morning sunlight.

Hesitantly, the group of five made their way down to explore, maybe if they found a building with a decent roof they could catch up on the sleep they missed last night. The whole place was eeriely quiet, crickets could be heard in the long grass and the occasional bird took flight when started as they passed by. It was quite a little ghost town, sunwashed white walls and red roofs, grass and peeling paint and broken windows, mouldy wooden doors and crumbling staircases.

"Seems like no one's here," Tsuna observed as they carried on through the main street, relaxing a little at the perceived solitude.

Reborn hummed, "They look like Italian Houses... They're already old and rotten."

Ariah grunted in agreement as she ran a hand down one of the walls and came away with a chalky white palm, "Very old. Definitely been abandoned for longer than the current generation of the Shimon have been alive," she observed before looking around, "I would have expected more plant-life though."

"Agreed," Reborn said before the group froze, a distant strain of someone talking reaching their ears.

The group hastily put their backs to the wall and hurried over, staying low.

It was the Lady Gaga girl.

"Shitt.P!" Gokudera exclaimed in shock.

Ariah meanwhile blinked and stared, Sh-Shitt.P? That's... Who the hell would give a girl a name like that? Who the hell would be so _cruel_ to name a girl shit? She shook her head. No, she was being unfair. Different cultures, different languages. It may have been obscene in English but she didn't know if it was in Japanese or Italian, she had no right to judge.

The unique girl however ignored them, "So, the area is three times bigger, which means Masato-kun has five yen more than others. This will cover the math study for the day," she muttered to herself, making a few notes on her papers before setting it aside.

"Shitt.P! It's me! I'm here to fight!" Gokudera shouted through the broken windows.

He was, however, ignored like before as she continued with what Ariah was beginning to guess was her homework. Wow, Hermione... Hermione would definitely approve. "Next is Japanese. 'Jugemu Jugemu Gokou no scratched and it hurts... I'm started to bleeding too'," she quoted in an undertone.

Gokudera grimaced, "Alright, S-... Sh-sh-sh-_Shitopi-chan!_" he finally burst out, face turning pink in embarrassment.

She immediately set aside her homework and stood to greet them, smiling pleasantly, "Gokudera-kun, I'm glad that you called me that." Ariah blinked, all that because he wouldn't call her by her preferred name? Well... Huh...

"That's surprisingly mature," she muttered under her breath. Maybe next time Malfoy insisted on calling her Scar-Head she would do the same. She then got a good look at her clothing, "Aren't you cold?" she couldn't help but ask, only to get ignored. It seemed as though she only had eyes for Gokudera. Which was... kind of cute actually, y'know, if she weren't an enemy who would likely try to kill them.

"H-hey," Gokudera greeted, still a little embarrassed and flustered from having to call her by that name.

She smiled and gestured around them, "This town looks similar to the one Shimon's Ancestors lived in. The end of the story." Ariah jerked back from the window as the girl suddenly launched herself up and through the broken roof to land in the street in front of them. She straightened and affixed a disconcertingly intense look onto them. "I prefer Gokudera-kun to fight with me. I want to toy and defeat cute Gokudera-kun," she intoned, making the hairs on the back of Ariah's neck stand straight.

"Of course your oppnent is me!" the silver haired youth declared, ignoring Tsuna's exclamation, "I'll be fine, Juudaime! Even though she's an UMA, as a representative of the Homosapiens and also as a Guardian of the Vongola, I'll make sure to defeat her!"

'_What the fuck is an UMA?_' Ariah wondered silently.

"I'll tell you my pride!"

"I already know that," Shitopi-san told him. "I've been observing, Gokudera-kun. Gokudera-kun's pride is... that you're a subordinate of the Vongola Juudaime. Am I wrong?"

"That's right! Being a Guardian and serving the Juudaime is my pride!" he confirmed.

"That's why you're weak," she told him idly, and then smiled knowingly. "To me, it's not for someone or to serve someone but for myself. Always being my own self without falsehood is my pride. I'll teach you that you won't stand the slightest chance if you fight for Juudaime. Now, prepare yourself, Gokudera-kun."

Gokudera seemed to be a little irritated, "The same goes for you! URI!" he commanded, his belt-bucket exploding in scarlet flame a moment before – a Kneazle? With red storm flame ear tufts. That was... actually really cute. She blinked as the cat hopped up and started headbutting Gokudera.

"Gokudera-kun and Uri used to have a really bad relationship though," Tsuna gaped in shock, "Uri's totally attached to him now, what?!"

Perhaps not that attached as Ariah could see the cat clawing his face now.

"Uri! Cambio Forma!" he commanded, the feline bursting into light and flame that engulfed him entirely forming...

"It's the revival of the Smokin' Bomb!" Tsuna cheered as Gokudera was revealed in varying accessories and... dynamite strapped to every available location that didn't interfere with his range of movement. Ariah stared, a little stunned.

"Ah, Gokudera-kun... you're smoking cigarettes," Shitopi-san scolded with a smile.

"Huh? Not quite," Gokudera declared with a smirk as he presented the white stick, "This is my custom Vongola Gear of the Storm's dynamite pipe-shaped Igniter," he declared, small licks of scarlet flame flickering at the tip.

Shitopi-san smiled, "It suits you, Gokudera-kun. If it were me, I'd like to shove about twenty of those in my nose."

Ariah's hands immediately went to shield her nose, "Ow, the human nose isn't big enough for that!" she squeaked, a little horrified along with the others, even her dad looked a little disturbed and he was actually the weirdest out of all of them in terms of unique habits – not that she knew of course, he had yet to show his cosplay fetish in front of her.

"Anyways," Gokudera decided to disregard that comment and get back to the fighting, he could handle the fighting. "Shitopi-chan... What should we do about the rules of the fight?" he asked.

"It's already been decided. We're popping balloons. Try lighting this 'fianma balloon' with a flame."

A fight where they were... popping balloons? Ariah tilted her head, more than a little perplexed. This... Well, Shitopi-san was, erm, unique. In thinking. So... it wasn't really surprising that she would select a unique manner of settling the fight. And the Gryffindor knew her uncle was somewhat opposed to hitting girls, even if they were trying to kill him. She could understand that kind of thinking, but if she were fighting Bellatrix Lestrange, she wouldn't hesitate to throw as many Cutting and Exploding Hexes at her as possible. Fuck being a gentleman – even though she was now a woman.

"The Fianma balloon's consistency is just about as delicate as a regular rubber balloon," Shitopi-san explained before backflipping away, the balloons following her. "No matter how wild you move, they will follow within one metre of you.

"The rules of the battle are as follows: Popping two of your opponent's Fianma bubbles counts as a win. How's that?" she concluded, her eyes widening to creepy proportions behind her large tinted sunglasses.

Gokudera nodded, "I see. How interesting. I was wondeing how I felt about hitting a girl directly... even if you're just an UMA in the form of one. With those rules, I'll be able to run wild with my Vongola Gear."

"What a sweet little thing to say. You're so cute, Gokudera-kun." Okay, Ariah was getting some major creeped out vibes from this whole thing. What the _hell_ is an UMA? "The field is this entire town. If the duel isn't over within five minutes, it's a tie. In the event of a tie, the Vindice will take us both away to their prison. Just like the battle between Ryohei and Kouyou.

"Let's begin, Gokudera-kun."

"Fine by me," he growled, but then turned to them. "But before that, Juudaime, Ariah-chan! It would be awful if you two got hurt, please take cover somewhere safe, as far away as you can from here!" he told them.

Ariah spluttered, "What?"

"Ah, right! I got it! Watch yourself, Gokudera!" Tsuna told him, grabbing her arm and pulling her away. She followed, reluctantly.

"Again with, 'Juudaime this', 'Juudaime that'," the Shimon woman lamented scornfully.

Ariah didn't see what happened next, she was busy scooping up both her father and Lambo – and then setting said father on her shoulder so he couldn't abuse the other child after Lambo started crying, bruise on his head from where the man hit him. She did however turn around in time to See Shitopi-san hug Gokudera, arms and legs wrapping around him.

"Living on the comfort of others if proof of weakness," the strange girl purred. "I'm talking about living for the sake of anyone... living for the sake of the Juudaime. Having no confidence in yourself, and being completely dependent on others. Right now, Gokudera-kun, if the Juudaime were to disappear, your sense of honour would crumble and you'd turn lifeless, like a corpse. I also have people I love. I love Enma, and Adelheid, and Kaoru, and Rauji, and Koujou. I'm not really sure about Julie... But, Gokudera-kun, you're cute. So I love you too.

"But the one I love most, is me.

"My sense, my thought process, and my style... My big tits, my thighs... My self-respect. I love me more than anything," she told him powerfully, before bracing herself against his shoulders and flipping upwards, her heeled feet lashing out and stabbing into one of the balloons – popping it.

"THAT'S WHY I'M STRONG!" She flipped away, turning the ground to mud as she dodged away. "My flame is of the seven elements of the earth, the flame of the Swamp. I can ferment any inorganic substance into a bottomless swamp!" she declared.

"But Gokudera-kun's heart, which has been living only for Sawada Tsunayoshi... is brittle. Normally you don't even try to look past his facade." She landed on top of a building and straightened, condescending smile on her face. "Shall I show you right in front of your eyes that 'no matter how you think about him, Sawada Tsunayoshi is no good'?" she asked playfully. "You know that I've always closely observed Gokudera-kun. Gokudera-kun has somehow pushed himself to see Sawada Tsunayoshi as the figure of a Vongola Boss. He looks past all the 'no-good' parts of Sawada Tsunayoshi. But Sawada Tsunayoshi... is incredibly ignorant," she pointed out, pulling a photograph from a pocket.

Ariah blinked, those were... test papers. A picture of test papers?

"His midterms and finals always score less than tenth from last. If you take an average of everything... he's one of the top three people who have repeated grades the most."

"HIIIIIIIIIIEE! HOW DID YOU FIND THAT OUT?!" Tsuna squealed, flailing in horror. Ariah looked at him in shock, that was _true_?! That – that was Marcus _Flint_ level of dumb! He was the only person she'd ever heard of failing a year and needing to repeat and he actually had Troll blood in him (At least that was what the Gryffindors thought).

"If it was just that, what would you think of him as the Vongola Boss... But on top of that, he's a complete pervert. On the way home from school, on countrless occasions, he's stalked Sasagawa Kyoko. He stays a fixed distance right behind her and follows her."

"Th-That was just to see Kyoko-chan, but, I didn't have to courage to say anything!" the brunet tried to defend. Ariah snickered a little in amusement.

"And on top of that, when Sasagawa Kyoko's skirt was blown up by the wind, he made this face." She produced a second photograph of quite possibly one of the most hilarious reaction expressions Ariah had seen in a long time, she burst out laughing as Tsuna freaked. "He also made this face when he caught Serafino Ariah changing in the living room." A third picture was produced and Tsuna went chalk white and tried to run away a moment before Reborn kicked his feet out from under him. Ariah stopped laughing and went to separate them.

Shitopi-san gave them a passing glance, the hitman was throttling his student while the daughter tried to break them up, and the cow-child took his chance to dig through the bags for sweets. Hardly very dignified, any of them. She turned back to cute Gokudera-kun.

"He has no sense of excellence or superiority. In sprinting, starting from kindergarten he was dead last. In his phys Ed test, he was also dead last. Because of Sawada Tsunayoshi, they lost that the last minute at least twelve times. And he's even afraid of chihuahuas."

Ariah finally dragged her father off her friend in time to catch that last statement and snickered, as she hefted Reborn in one arm and dragged Tsuna up with the other.

"She sure did her homework," Reborn observed, still giving Tsuna the evil eye. The brunet physically cowered behind Ariah away from him and she patted his head with a giggle.

"What do you think, Gokudera-kun? Wake uyp and look at the reality of your no-good Juudaime. If the Sawada Tsunayoshi you worship wasn't rhw Vongola Juudaime, you wouldn't think he was anything but a regular no-good loser," Shitopi-chan hammered home.

Tsuna sniffed a little, his head tipping forward to rest on Ariah's shoulder. It was all the truth anyway, he couldn't defend himself from that. Gokudera had more than likely become disillusioned and Tsuna was going to lose one of his precious friends because he _was_ a no-good loser. And not even Reborn could change that.

"Is that all?" Gokudera deadpanned.

And then Shitopi-san exploded, one of her balloons popping in the process.

"Before giving away all my secrets, I'll tell you this," Gokudera told her as she jumped to a second roof, looking around for where the dynamites could have possibly come from – she'd kept her eyes on Gokudera-kun almost the whole time, there was no way she couldn't have noticed him deploying them! "All those no-good parts of the Juudaime you were talking about... Of course, I knew all about them."

"Even so, what about them?" Gokudera demanded, eyeing her like she was some kind of idiot. "That doesn't make up more than one side of the Juudaime. The Juudaime that I think about, the Vongola Juudaime whom I respect greatly... Had nothing to do with him.

"Sure, I'm fighting for Juudaime and to be the Juudaime's Right Hand man!" Gokudera shouted as he sprinted forward, "That's why I still don't like myself! That's not my weakness. Because the Juudaime's Right Hand man that I'm aiming for is far higher up than the current me! There are so many things that I'm missing!" he shouted, throwing out several handfuls of dynamite, "Stretch myself!" A shadow of Uri landed behind her. "And scheme!"

"I don't get what you're saying," Shitopi told him, frowning as her claws deployed, stretching out to meet the various dynamites rocketing towards her.

"Maybe an UMA can't understand." He flung more dynamite out. "And now, I'll tell you how I did that surprise bomb just then! The Storm's VG has dynamites as its main weapon, but it also has a detached secret weapon. And now, that secret is aiming for the catnip that I put on you!"

"Cat nip?" Shitopi repeated, bewildered. Right before she turned and spotted the scarlet flamed cat falling down onto her. '_A tail fuse?!_' she realised, spotting the odd fact that half of the poor feline's tail hair had been shaved off – no, not shaved, _burned_.

"This is the Storm VG's secret weapon, and, at the same time, it's my other self." The cat expoloded.

Throwing Shitopi off the roof and popping her last remaining balloon.

Gokudera grinned as she hit the ground in a crouch and Uri, ten times smaller than she used to be, landed on his shoulder – and then started clawing his face in demand for more catnip. Ariah laughed as Tsuna immediately started cheering.

"You did it Gokudera-kun! You won! That was awesome!"

"Piece of cake! I said that hurts!" he then shouted at Uri who had migrated from his cheek to his nose, biting and scratching.

"Huh? Don't you think Uri's shrunk somehow?" Tsuna asked as the group made their way back to the Storm Guardian.

He grinned as Ariah immediately took the tiny feline away from him, carefully unhooking those nasty klitten claws from his face. Apparently Uri liked her a lot better than Gokudera and was quite content to be scratched and stroked and rubbed by the other girl.

"Yeah, since the Yuri bomb consumed Uri's own flames, the more we use it, the smaller she gets. I think when she regained her strength in about three to four days she'll be back to her normal size," he explained trying to stem the flow of blood her claws had done to his face.

"**The victor and the defeated have been decided.**" Ariah shivered as shadows formed and three figures in black with bandaged faces formed behind the other girl.

"**The defeated is Shitt.P of the Shimon Famiglia. And now, I will give you the third 'key' that I was entrusted with by Giotto and Cozart.**" A letter with a red wax seal fluttered to life in his hands before glowing. "**Take us to the past of the Vongola and Shimon**."

Light sparked on the foreheads of everyone, save Ariah and Reborn, who exchanged glances of worry.

_**000**_

**I know it has been entirely too long since my last update. I have no excuse beyond reasons and lack of motivation.**

**I will try to be a lot more prompt with future chapters. In fact, I am now dedicating Fridays to update Wintertide until it is finished. Hopefully I can stick to this.**


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